Family Values
by teamWilson
Summary: Set any time after 4x12. Alicia and Peter are continuing their secret affair and Alicia seems perfectly content to keep things the way they are. However, a shocking incident involving the youngest of the Florrick clan will cause Peter to re-evaluate their situation. This fic is a little on the dark and angsty side at times and will centre around the whole Florrick family unit.
1. Chapter 1

**The Good Wife: Family Values**

**Chapter 1**

_**Summary:**_ _Set any time after 4x12. Alicia and Peter are continuing their secret affair and Alicia seems perfectly content to keep things the way they are. However, a shocking incident involving the youngest of the Florrick clan will cause Peter to re-evaluate their situation. This fic is a little on the dark and angsty side at times and will centre around the whole Florrick Family unit. _

_A/N: Strong T rating for content, subject matter, and language in later chapters.  
_

* * *

"Wow, that was exactly what I needed" Alicia sighed happily as Peter collapsed onto the bed next to her; both bodies completely spent and trying to catch their breath after what had been another exhilarating round in their recent string of many casual encounters.

"That was amazing" Peter replied as he lay next to her, his heart pounding so hard in his chest he can feel it in his ears.

"I should probably get going though" Alicia said regretfully as she gathered the sheets up around her naked frame and sat up in the bed.

"Already?" Peter whined; pushing himself up onto his elbow and running his free hand over the small of her naked back.

"Yeah, I've got to get home and get dinner for the kids, it's already late. I guess I should give them a call first and make sure Zach is at home, he did mention something about going to the campaign office after school today" she mentioned as she started patting the bed around her.

"What are you looking for?" Peter asked, chuckling as he watched her.

"My cell phone. If you recall I was in the middle of a conversation before you _distracted _me and I ended up hanging up on my assistant and tossing the phone God knows where" she said with a huff, but being around her as long as he had been Peter could tell she wasn't actually angry.

"Here, use mine" Peter mentioned, reaching over to the nightstand and passing her his cell phone.

"Peter! Are you crazy" Alicia practically gasped at him; shoving his phone away from her. "I can't call our children from your cell phone. We have call display you know and they can't know about… whatever this is" she said with a wave of her hand between them.

"Right, right" Peter sighed. "Your precious _rules_" he emphasized the last word with air quotes as he rolled away from her and reached to the floor beside his bed to find his boxers and pants.

He hadn't made it a secret that he didn't like sneaking around with her; especially the part where they were lying to their children but Alicia wasn't ready to give him anything more yet and Peter unfortunately wasn't really in a position to argue. Alicia held all the cards, he knew that. So if this was all he could get for now, he'd take it.

Though regular sex with the woman that he loved was great, she had her own set of strict ground rules that they were to follow at all times. For starters they were never to have sex at her apartment; Thanksgiving being the one and only amendment to the rule. They never got together at his place if the kids were with him for the night. Eli wasn't to find out _(he'd have a field day with that tidbit of information)_ and finally there was never under any circumstances 'sleepovers' allowed. Some evenings Peter had no idea where she found the energy to get up and go home afterwards when all he wanted to do was stay tangled up in bed with her forever, but she followed every rule she set to a T. It's not that she was cold, or even emotionally unattached from the acts themselves, she just didn't trust herself not to get ahead of herself if she didn't have rules in place. At least that's what she told him and he had no reason not to believe her so he went along with it all, albeit somewhat reluctantly at times.

"It has to be around here somewhere" Alicia huffed once more, pulling Peter out of his reverie and focusing back on her. She was standing on the opposite side of the bed as him now, sheets draped around her to cover her otherwise naked frame. Peter at least had his pants on now and so did his part to help her find her phone, looking first in what he figured was the most obvious of places when to look when you lose things; under the bed.

"Ah ha! Got it!" Peter exclaimed triumphantly, rising up from the floor and holding Alicia's phone in his hand.

"Thank you" she said, reaching across the bed to retrieve it from him and quickly dialing her home number.

The phone rang several times until Alicia's own voice kicked in on the answering device so she quickly ended the call and brought the phone away from her ear, staring at it pensively.

"Hmmm, that's strange" she mumbled mostly to herself.

"What is it?" Peter asked, his curiosity now peaked. "Something wrong?"

"No it's just… nobody picked up the phone. Grace should be at home"

"Maybe she's just in the shower or something" Peter shrugged. "Try Zach's cell phone maybe"

Alicia did just that, scrolling through her contacts list until she found Zach's number and pressed send; relieved when he had answered after only the second ring.

"Hello, Mom?" Zach had answered and Alicia automatically smiled upon hearing her son's voice.

"Hi Zach, are you at home by any chance?"

"No, still at the campaign office, probably won't be home 'til late. Why?"

"Nothing, I just called home and nobody answered so I wanted to see what you guys were up to. Do you know where your sister is?"

"No, sorry Mom, try her cell phone though"

"I will, thank you Zach" she told him before hanging up the phone and scrolling through her contact list again until she had found Grace's number.

"Trying Grace's phone?" Peter asked and Alicia simply nodded as she waited in anticipation for her daughter to pick up.

"Hello?" Grace answered a few moments later and Alicia sighed with relief.

"Grace, hi. Where are you?" Alicia asked casually. She had no reason to be upset yet, for all she knew Grace could be sitting at home and simply didn't hear the phone ring.

"Mom, I told you…" Grace replied with a huff.

"Told me what?"

"I asked you last week if I could go to Shannon's on Friday for a sleepover and you said it was okay"

"Oh…" Alicia furrowed her brow as she tried in vain to remember this conversation taking place. It probably had, she's sure Grace wasn't lying but she'd been so busy lately with work and the campaign and, not that she was keeping track, but this was her _third_ trip to see Peter this week so she could see how she could've forgotten.

"I left you a note on the fridge" Grace argued; pulling Alicia from her thoughts.

"Right. Sorry sweetie, I guess I forgot. I'm sorry"

"Well I can still stay over right? You said I could-" Grace was preparing for a fight but Alicia was quick to interrupt.

"Yes Grace, you can stay over. Remember tomorrow is your night at Dad's though so don't be home too late"

"I won't" Grace promised.

"Okay, well have fun and be good for Shannon's mother"

"_Mom_" Grace groaned into the phone; hating the way her mother still often spoke to her like she was 8 years old.

"Love you too" Alicia sighed into the phone at her daughter's new found snarky attitude.

"I love you Mom, good night" Grace told her; though Alicia was sure it was just a means to get her off the phone.

"Night Grace"

Alicia heaved a heavy sigh as she ended the call and tossed the phone onto the mattress before taking her head into her hands.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked, a soft chuckle escaping him as he spoke.

"Nothing. Grace is staying at Shannon's tonight, I forgot and she was just giving me attitude about it"

"Oh the joys of raising a teenage girl" Peter joked and Alicia could do little more than smirk at him as she nodded her head.

"Yep" she sighed.

"You want me to talk to her?" Peter asked; seriousness in his tone this time.

"No, it's fine" Alicia said with a wave of indifference. "She'll be over it by tomorrow, she's just in one of her moods"

"Okay" Peter shrugged. "So what's Zach up to?"

"Staying late at the campaign office. Friday's are the only night's I let him stay there late"

"So… you don't _have_ to leave?" Peter asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Alicia giggled slightly at his suggestion. "Why is there somewhere else I should be?"

"I can think of one good place" Peter shrugged before walking around the bed to meet her. He took her by the hand and led her into the bathroom where he turned on the shower, allowing the room to fill up with a thick steam.

"Care to join me?" He asked, suggestively raising one eyebrow at her before removing his pants and tossing them carelessly aside.

Alicia simply smiled at him before slowly unwrapping the sheet from around herself and dropping it to the floor, letting it pool around her feet.

"My God you're beautiful" Peter breathed before pulling her against him and capturing her lips in a long searing kiss and began leading them backward into the overly large shower stall.

* * *

"Are you in trouble?" Connor asked, looking over to Grace as she hung up the phone and slid it into the back pocket of her denim skirt.

"No, it's cool, she still thinks I'm at Shannon's" Grace said with a small shrug. She didn't want to lie to her mother about where she was going tonight, but she knew under no circumstances would Alicia allow her to go to a party with a bunch of seniors from her school. She was one of the very few juniors invited; Connor had asked her to go with him and she couldn't turn down the opportunity. She had never been the most popular girl in school but every moment she spent with Connor she felt like she was, like she meant the world to somebody.

"Awesome" Connor grinned at her before taking the final swig out of his small silver flask and stuffing it inside his jacket pocket. "Ready to go in?" He asked, holding out his hand to her.

"Yeah" she smiled, lacing her fingers through his as they entered the house.

The party was in full swing by the time they had arrived. She couldn't even remember the name of the person whose house it was, Kurt something or other, all she knew was that his parents were on vacation so he decided to throw a party for no real reason other than that he could.

Still clutching onto her hand Connor led Grace through the front hallway and into the kitchen where dozens of their peers stood crowding around a keg each with red plastic cups in their hands and chatting amongst themselves.

"Want a drink?" Connor asked against her ear so she could hear him over the pounding music that was currently shaking the floorboards beneath their feet as they walked.

Grace hesitated for a moment. She had never drank before, but then again she'd never been invited to a party before either and she knew that's why she came tonight, to try new experiences.

"Sure" she said with a small shrug and a bright smile towards Connor.

"K, come on" he pulled her a little further and pushed through the crowd of rambunctious teens until he reached the keg and was able to pour them both a glass.

Taking both cups in one hand Connor grabbed Grace's hand with his free one and pulled her further along through the kitchen towards the back of the house where it was a little less crowded and certainly less noisy.

"Here you go" Connor smiled at her as they came to a stop at the bottom of a staircase off the living room.

"Thanks" Grace said, accepting the drink from him before taking a seat on one of the steps. She took a small swallow and had to fight back the urge to spit it straight back into the cup again. It was disgusting, to say the least, she thought to herself. But, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Connor she simply squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed down the foul-tasting liquid.

"Don't like it do you" Connor said; more of a statement then a question.

Grace gave a shy shrug of her shoulders. "It's okay"

"You hate it" Connor chuckled and Grace let out a small laugh before nodding her head in agreement.

"Don't worry, it doesn't taste so bad once you get used to it" he assured her before taking her hand holding the cup and tipping it back up towards her mouth.

Grace did as Connor wanted and brought the cup the rest of the way to her lips and took another large swallow, waiting a few seconds and then quickly taking a third in hopes that if she drank it fast enough maybe she just wouldn't taste it.

He did seem to be right though, by the third gulp she had to admit it hadn't tasted nearly as bad as the first, though she still didn't understand why people would want to drink this leisurely. She understood why kids did it to get drunk, but did people actually enjoy drinking this for its taste? Grace shook her head at the thought. _Gross_.

"You're cute when you drink" Connor had mentioned and Grace could feel her cheeks turning pink at the compliment before she let out a nervous laugh.

"Shut up"

"I'm serious" he laughed, taking a seat next to her on the step. "The way your nose scrunches up every time you take a sip, it's adorable" he told her, leaning in closer until their faces were nearly inches apart.

"I love your nose" he whispered quietly before rubbing his nose gently against hers in an Eskimo kiss.

"You do?" Grace asked shyly. Connor was by far the first and closest thing she had ever had to a boyfriend, and she finally understood what people meant when they said someone gave them butterflies in their stomach because she felt them every time Connor looked at her.

"Yeah" he answered simply before his eyes flickered down to her mouth. "And I love your soft lips…" he whispered against her lips before capturing them with his own for a long, slow kiss.

"I like your lips too" Grace said nervously as Connor slowly pulled back from her.

"Remember that day you kissed me in the bushes at school?"

"Yeah" Grace slowly nodded.

"I can't stop thinking about that kiss" Connor admitted softly and once again Grace could feel the blush rising in her cheeks. That was the first time she had ever kissed someone, she didn't even really know what she was doing so to hear a guy as experienced as Connor tell her he couldn't stop thinking about it made Grace feel like she was the only girl in the world.

"Really?" she asked; mild disbelief in her tone, though she really wanted to believe he was telling her the truth.

"Yeah" he smiled. "I want you to kiss me like that again so badly"

"Okay" Grace giggled nervously.

"Not here" Connor mentioned, standing up from the step. "Come on" he said, holding his hand out for her, which Grace accepted after only a moment of hesitation.

Pulling her up from the step Connor slowly led Grace up the winding staircase and into a quiet hallway lined with closed doors on either side.

"Here, this one" Connor motioned with a nod of his head toward the second door on their left.

Opening the door Connor led Grace into a darkened bedroom. Grace couldn't see much but she could tell it belonged to a boy; blue painted walls lined with hockey posters hung above the double bed.

"This is Kurt's younger brother's room" Connor mentioned as he looked around the room. Apparently he had been in here before.

He reached up next to him to flick on the floor lamp that stood beside the bed and it lit up the room with a subtle soft glow.

"Perfect" he grinned, turning back to Grace who had just taken the final step over the threshold into the room.

Connor reached for her, taking the plastic cup from her hand and placing it, along with his, on a nearby dresser before making his way back to Grace.

"You're not scared are you?" Connor asked quietly as he noticed Grace's timid expression as she peered around the room.

"No" she quickly assured him; not even believing the word herself as it left her lips.

"Look, Grace" he sighed, taking both her hands with his. "I would never do anything to hurt you, you know that right?" He asked and she merely nodded. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to"

"Okay" Grace agreed after a moment.

"Kay" Connor's bright smile practically lit up the otherwise dim room before quietly closing the door and leading her over to the bed where they both took a seat on the edge.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked almost in a whisper and Grace immediately felt the butterflies again and she couldn't nod her head fast enough.

"Yeah" she managed to get out before Connor's lips covered hers in a long, slow kiss. Taking her hands in his Connor brought Grace's arms up around his neck so that she could hold him closer so she followed his lead and laced her fingers together behind his head, pulling him slightly closer until he suddenly broke the kiss and pulled back.

"Did I do something wrong?" Grace asked confused. Connor simply chuckled before shaking his head.

"No" he quickly assured her. "I just wanna make sure you're okay" he told her and she smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm okay" she promised.

* * *

_A/N: Again this story will focus on the whole Florrick family so it will go back and forth between Alicia and Peter, Grace and Connor, and Zach will have more involvement soon as well. The angst will be turned up considerably in the next chapter so enjoy the 'somewhat' fluffy intro while it lasted, lol. Reviews are always welcomed and appreciated :)_


	2. Chapter 2

**The Good Wife: Family Values**

**Chapter 2**

_A/N: I'd like to just tell you all in advance that although Grace does get into a very vulnerable situation with Connor that I would NOT write anything too violent towards a child so have no fear. That being said I would consider this a strong T warning simply for the content and subject matter, oh, and some language as well..._

* * *

"I'm okay" she promised.

"Good" he grinned before drawing her in to another kiss. This time however he slowly parted her mouth open with his and slid his tongue inside. It caught Grace off guard for a brief moment but Connor let out an audible groan of appreciation when his tongue made contact with hers and suddenly Grace was lost in the kiss again, deciding just to mirror his movements in hopes that she was doing this 'kissing' thing right.

Placing one hand on her leg and the other on her side Connor gently pushed Grace down into the soft mattress and lowered himself next to her. Taking the hint Grace scooted herself up slightly higher on the bed and Connor rolled himself over top of her. He kept himself propped up on his knees so their bodies weren't actually touching but his hands began freely roaming over her sides.

"Grace…" Connor began between heated kisses; his breathing ragged from the lack of oxygen. "You're so beautiful, and perfect" he told her before deepening the kiss once more but when his right hand began to slide up underneath her sweater, Grace felt herself freeze. Not wanting him to stop kissing her, but not exactly ready for much more than that yet Grace took one hand away from the back of his head and placed it over her sweater where his hand was currently underneath and slowly pushed it downwards until his hand had left her skin and was back at her hip.

"Please" he mumbled against her lips. "Let me touch you"

Before Grace had a chance to answer his hand was quickly under her sweater again and as much as it worried her slightly, Grace couldn't deny it felt good to be wanted so this time she let his hand remain as she brought hers back up to run through his hair again.

His palm smoothed across her flat stomach before gripping at her side and then retreating back in the other direction to repeat the movement. He did this a few more times and Grace realized it wasn't as scary as she thought it would be until suddenly his hand moved purposefully higher and skimmed across the underside of her bra. He moaned into her mouth when his fingers brushed just slightly under the cotton fabric and Grace's eyes immediately shot open in surprise. Realizing she was completely wrong to think she was ready for something like this she once again found his hand and pushed it out from under her sweater.

"Don't, okay?" she whispered quietly as she broke away from the kiss.

"What's wrong?" Connor asked, looking up at her confused.

"I just… wanna take it slow" she shrugged.

"Grace, we _are_ taking it slow" he told her, letting out a small chuckle and it only made Grace feel more mortified.

"Well then, slow_er_" she amended firmly.

Connor lowered his head down to stare directly into her eyes as a small grin spread across his lips. "Come on Grace, nobody likes a tease"

"I'm not teasing" Grace challenged; her gaze narrowed at him.

"Yeah? Prove it" was all he said before his lips came crashing down on hers again and he lowered his body against her. Grace returned his kiss with equal fervor for a few brief seconds before she felt his hand retreat to her thigh and start pushing its way up underneath her skirt.

"Connor, stop" she warned, pushing him up from his chest. "I'm serious"

"Grace, I told you, I'd never hurt you. You believe me don't you?" He asked; his voice attempting to portray sweetness once again.

"I think… We should probably go back downstairs" Grace mentioned, propping herself up on her elbows.

"I thought you cared about me" he scoffed at her in disbelief.

"I do care about you!" Grace countered.

"Well, if you did, you would show me" he challenged.

"If _you_ cared about _me_, you wouldn't pressure me into something I didn't want to do" Grace quickly retaliated.

She was glad, in that moment for _'the talk'_ her Mother had insisted on having with her a couple years ago. Telling her that she should never do anything she didn't feel ready for and that if a boy pressured her she needed to take a firm stance and that _'no means no'_. If the boy truly cared about her he would respect her decision and would wait until she was ready. Grace had rolled her eyes at her mother at the time; not ready or even wanting to hear anything about that yet. But now, finding herself face to face with that exact situation she was glad she had her Mother's strong voice in the back of her mind, giving her the courage she needed to stand up for herself.

"Look, I know you're new at this, but you can't just get a guy all worked up and then suddenly slam on the brakes. It doesn't work like that okay?" he practically growled at her. "God Grace, don't you know what you do to me?" He continued in a much softer tone this time before grabbing both her hands and pulling them above her head and easing her back down against the mattress.

"Connor let go of me!" Grace demanded, squirming beneath him.

"Shhh, relax Baby" he soothed, lowering his head down to plant a kiss on her cheek. "I won't touch you anywhere you don't want me to" he whispered against her ear before placing a kiss just below it.

"I don't want you touching me at all!" Grace argued, squirming in his grasp once again. "Let me go!" she yelled; finally breaking one arm free and pushing his chest back hard.

"What the fuck Grace?" he growled at her in anger but before he had a chance to say anything further she quickly brought her knee up and forced it into his groin; causing him to cry out in pain before falling over on his side and giving Grace the opportunity to slip out from underneath him and run out of the room.

"Stay away from me Connor!" Grace warned before fleeing out of the bedroom; fresh tears streaming down her cheeks.

Re-entering the hallway just outside the bathroom Grace took a quick look around trying to determine the best way to get away from Connor when suddenly she heard a door open. Her heart leapt in her chest as she feared it was Connor coming after her but then she heard giggling and looked to her left to see three girls emerging from a bathroom and heading for the stairs.

Grace quickly made her way to the bathroom, slamming the door shut and locking it behind her once she got inside. Placing both hands down on the counter top Grace took a moment just to collect herself and find her breath again. After a few moments she finally brought her head up to look at herself in the mirror and hot tears instantly welled up in her eyes again, spilling over her cheeks as she took in her disheveled appearance. Her hair was a complete mess, her sweater was half hanging off one shoulder, her skirt was crooked and bunched up, and one of her knee-highs was pushed half way down her leg.

She was an absolute wreck.

Doing her best to make herself look presentable again Grace straightened her clothes and ran her fingers through her hair to get it back in place. Satisfied enough with the result Grace took a long deep breath as she readied herself to leave the bathroom and hopefully get as far away from this house and Connor as possible.

As she went to reach for the door handle however a loud banging on the other side startled her completely and she let out a small scream.

"Grace?" Connor's unmistakeable voice called out from the other side.

"Leave me alone!" Grace warned loudly; taking a step back from the door.

"C'mon Baby, open the door" Connor said quietly, pulling effortlessly on the locked door handle.

"No, go away!" she called out again.

"I'm sorry Grace, I just want to talk to you, please?" he asked softly.

Grace just stood still watching the door; having her own inner battle of whether or not she believed him and if she should open the door or not.

That thought however was short lived as she once again let out a scream when she heard Connor's fist begin pounding at the door; his anger returned in a matter of moments.

"Grace, open this fucking door right now!" he growled at her.

"Go away!" Grace sobbed as she backed further away from the door.

"Bitch" she heard him mumble as the pounding finally stopped and the room became silent again.

Closing the lid to the toilet Grace sat down on it and quickly pulled her phone from her back pocket; dialing a number with shaky hands.

"Hello?"

"Zach!" Grace practically gasped into the phone, her tears still flowing strong.

"Grace?" Zach asked slightly confused.

"Can you come get me?" Grace asked, her voice trembling. "Please?"

"Grace what's wrong? What happened?" Zach asked concerned.

"Nothing I just, I need you to come get me. And you can't tell Mom and Dad!"

"Where are you?"

"I'm... I'm at a party, do you know that Kurt kid on the lacrosse team?" she asked meekly; hoping her brother wouldn't take this moment to lecture her.

"Yeah, I mean I know him but I don't know where he lives. Um… Oh, just enable the location services on your phone settings and I can track your GPS signal"

"Okay" she said quietly through a sniffle.

"Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?"

"No, I'm okay, just hurry up Zach" she gently pleaded.

"I'm on my way" he promised before ending the call.

Not feeling safe enough to open the door yet Grace decided to wait in the locked bathroom until her brother arrived; thankful that the pounding and yelling had at least stopped and she could try and relax and compose herself before Zach got there.

* * *

Within 20 minutes and still no sign of Connor on the other side of the door, Grace received a text message from her brother.

'_I'm here, where are you? Need me to come in?'_

Grace breathed a sigh of relief before quickly typing out her reply.

'_No, I'll be right out'_

She took a deep breath and stood up from the toilet lid and slowly walked toward the bathroom door; stopping to press her ear against the wood to see if she could hear anyone on the other side.

"Connor?" she whispered quietly, waiting for a reply but hearing nothing in return.

She unlocked the door and very slowly pulled it open, peering through to the hallway to do another check before fully pulling it open.

Satisfied that Connor was in fact gone Grace took the opportunity and ran to the other end of the hallway where there was a second staircase; one she assumed would lead her to the front of the house rather than the back where she came from the first time. She bounded down the stairs as quickly as she could, taking the steps two at a time until she reached the bottom. The staircase led her to the front hallway and she didn't even bother to take a look back to see if Connor was still there before running out the front door, not even taking the time to notice the person standing on the other side of the door and she ran right into them nearly knocking herself backwards upon the collision.

"Grace!" she heard the voice call before a pair of arms came out to grab her and keep her from falling on her backside.

"Let go of me!" She screamed, fighting in the grasp of whom she assumed was Connor.

"Grace, shhh, it's me, it's okay!" The voice said softly and she looked up to see it was Zach she had ran into. Relief suddenly washed over her and she ceased her squirming.

"I was coming in to get you" he explained as he pulled her fully upright. "What happened? What are you even doing here?"

"I… Connor invited me. Look it doesn't matter, can we please just get out of here?" Grace asked anxiously; looking over her shoulder back inside the house to make sure Connor was nowhere in sight.

"Not until you tell me what happened" Zach demanded.

"Nothing" Grace muttered, staring only at the ground at her feet; not able to even look her brother in the eyes.

"Grace, look at me" Zach said softly. "I won't be mad. If you're drunk or stoned or whatever, just tell me. I promise I won't tell Mom and Dad" he assured her and she wished that were the case. It would be easier to explain and forgive.

She took a breath and then slowly raised her head up to look at Zach. He didn't need to say anything, the reaction he gave told her he could see she was upset and had been crying.

"Grace, what the hell happened to you? What did Connor do, tell me right now" He said quietly. He wasn't angry with her, she could tell. But he did want answers.

"You won't get mad?"

"I won't get mad" Zach promised.

"Me and Connor, we were just having fun and… we went up to this room upstairs…" She began with a shaky voice and Zach's head fell into his hand as he wasn't sure he wanted to hear what she was going to say next.

"Grace did he hurt you?"

"No" she mumbled quietly.

"Did he… take advantage of you?" He asked carefully.

"I don't know Zach" Grace threw her arms up in frustration. "We were just kissing, and everything was okay, but then he wanted to do other stuff and I told him to stop and he got mad"

"Grace, what did he do to you?" Zach asked, trying in vain to keep his anger in check.

"Nothing, he just got really mad when I kept telling him to stop and he tried to hold me down but I pushed him off of me ran into the bathroom and locked the door. That's when I called-"

"Go wait in the car!" Zack demanded, not even allowing Grace to finish her sentence.

"No Zach, he didn't mean-"

"Grace! Get in the car right now" He told her once more before he pushed past her and went storming into the house yelling Connor's name at the top of his lungs.

She knew she should listen to her brother but the look in his eyes actually made her fear for Connor so against her better judgement she went running in after him. She could hear yelling and a commotion and when she finally made it to the kitchen she turned the corner to see Connor laid flat out on his back holding his now bleeding nose with Zach towering over him.

"And don't _ever_ come near my sister again" Zach warned before landing a sharp kick to Connor's side; causing him to cry out in pain.

Zach turned around to see Grace standing behind him and rolled his eyes at her insubordination. "Come on, we're getting out of here" he told Grace before grabbing her by her elbow and pulling her out of the house.

They climbed into the car without a word and Zach pulled out of the driveway and began driving them towards home. Grace chanced a glance over in his direction every few minutes but he had yet to say anything and Grace wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Are you mad at me?" Grace finally asked as they neared their Mother's apartment.

"What? No, of course not" Zach quickly shook his head. "That guy's a jerk Grace and you did the right thing getting out of there and calling me. You know you can always call me, right? No matter what"

"I know" Grace slowly nodded. "You're not going to tell Mom and Dad right?"

"Grace…" Zach sighed.

"Zach, you can't tell them! I lied to Mom, she thinks I'm at Shannon's. You have to tell her you picked me up there 'cause I was sick or something" Grace practically begged.

"Look I don't know what I'm going to do yet, let me just get you home, you can go to bed and I'll figure out what to say to Mom"

"Fine" Grace sighed, inwardly hoping her brother would keep her secret to himself.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Zack asked in a much softer tone this time.

"I don't know" Grace shrugged. "Just kinda shaken up I guess"

Zach felt absolutely terrible. Terrible that he couldn't protect his little sister, and terrible that she had been in that situation at all. He had no idea what to say to her though, wasn't sure anything he said could ever be enough to take away the pain she was feeling right now. One thing he was certain of though was that there was no way he should keep this from his parents. As much as Grace didn't want them to know he knew it was the responsible thing to do.

They pulled into the parking garage a few minutes later and made their way inside the building. Once they reached their apartment Zach let them in and Grace immediately fled straight to her bedroom, hoping her Mother wouldn't even see her and maybe they could avoid telling her all together.

Zach set his keys down on the table and tossed his jacket over a chair as he looked around the kitchen and living room.

"Mom?" he called out but got no answer in return.

Heading to her closed bedroom door Zach rapped his knuckles against the wood and stood back awaiting a response.

"Mom?" He called out curiously before slowly pushing her door open and taking a glance inside.

Finding the room empty Zach furrowed his brow as he tried to think where his Mom would be at such a late hour. He knew it was definitely too late for her to still be at work but she hadn't mentioned anything about going out afterwards either and hadn't left a note. He thought about calling her cell phone, but wasn't sure what exactly he would say to her if she answered. This certainly wasn't a conversation that should take place over the phone if he did in fact tell her what happened, he knew that much. He also knew that as strong as his mother was, this would undoubtedly crush her and he worried he wouldn't be enough support for her when she inevitably broke down.

_There is no easy way for this conversation to go down_, he sighed inwardly.

Heading back toward the living room Zach walked over to the sofa before collapsing into the cushions with a heavy sigh. He stared up at the ceiling as he tossed a throw pillow up in the air and caught it again; repeating the action several times as his inner battle of loyalty towards his sister's wishes and responsibility towards doing the right thing raged on inside his mind.

After several minutes had passed Zach decided he knew what he had to do so with a deep readying sigh he stood up from the sofa, pulled out his cell phone, and began dialing the familiar number.

* * *

_A/N: Thoughts? Reviews are greatly appreciated and keep me motivated to keep going :)_


	3. Chapter 3

**The Good Wife: Family Values**

**Chapter 3**

_A/N: Huge thanks to Josie for being my sounding board on this, and to my A/P family out there for being my cheerleaders. Ladies, you know who you are ;)  
_

* * *

"Hello?" Alicia's voice answered after the third ring and Zach let out a sigh of relief.

"Mom, hey. Where are you?" Zach asked curiously as he looked to his watch again, taking note of the late hour.

"I'm… I was…I'm just having a drink with some people from work" She finally said, almost as if she was unsure of her answer. "I thought you were going to be home late?"

"Yeah, I was but…" Zach stopped himself for a moment and looked over at Grace's closed bedroom door, taking a deep breath as he inwardly told himself he was doing the right thing.

"Zach?" Alicia interrupted his thoughts. "Is something wrong?"

"Mom, something happened…" he finally said, a little uneasily.

"What is it? Zach is everyone okay? Are you and Grace okay?" Alicia asked, a hint of panic clearly evident in her tone now.

"Yeah, we're okay, but I need to talk to you. And Dad, actually, but not here. Can you meet me at Dad's house?"

"Of, of course" Alicia stuttered almost nervously. "Are you on your way now?"

"Yeah I'm leaving now" he confirmed as he walked back through to the kitchen and grabbed for his jacket and threw it on.

"Okay, well I'm actually not far from Dad's" she lied.

"Do you want to call Dad and let him know we're coming over? I'm sure he's at home because he wasn't at the campaign office when I left"

"Yeah, sure I'll call him. I guess I'll see you soon. Drive carefully please" she said before hanging up the phone.

Zach grabbed his keys off the counter and shoved his phone into his pocket before heading back over to Grace's room to check on her. Peeking his head inside the room he saw Grace tucked into bed and already asleep, most likely exhausted from all the crying she had been doing. Exiting her room Zach headed back through the kitchen and to the front door, letting himself out of the apartment and locking the door behind him.

* * *

Alicia ended the call then brought the phone close to her chest as she clutched it tightly in her hands. The worried look that had washed over her hadn't escaped Peter who had just re-entered the bedroom with two glasses of wine in hand when he found Alicia sitting perched on the edge of the bed.

"Alicia, what is it? What's wrong?" He asked, quickly crossing the room to come stand in front of her.

"I… I don't know" Alicia shook her head gently and her uncertain tone only worried Peter further.

Placing the two wine glasses on the bedside table Peter knelt down in front of her and placed his hands on her knees. "What happened? Who was that on the phone?"

"Zach. He's coming over here. He said he needs to talk to us" she told him wearily.

"Oh…" Peter sighed. "Did he say what it was about?" He asked but she just shook her head negatively.

"Do you think it's about us… Seeing each other?" He asked a moment later but Alicia merely shrugged.

"I have no idea" she answered truthfully. "He said something happened, but that's all he would say"

Peter let out a heavy sigh. If it was about the two of them spending more time together he knew that neither of them had wanted their kids to find out like this. B_eing caught_, so to speak. He looked up to Alicia and could tell by the look in her eyes that her mind was also going a mile a minute about what could have possibly happened.

"Hey" he spoke softly, reaching up to take the phone out of her grasp and place it on the table next to them. "Whatever it is, it's going to be all right, okay?" He assured her as he took both her hands into his and brought one up to his lips to place a kiss on the back of it.

Alicia gave him a small smile. As strong as she prided herself in being, when it came to family she knew Peter was always the rock that could keep them all grounded and whatever challenges lay ahead of them he would be there to face them head-on every step of the way. And for that, she couldn't be more grateful.

"Come on, let's go wait downstairs" Peter suggested, standing up and taking one of Alicia's hands again before pulling her up from the bed and leading her out of the bedroom.

* * *

Alicia was pacing the living room, and had been for at least the last twenty minutes while they waited for Zach to arrive and Peter nearly felt dizzy as he had his eyes trained on her the entire time following her movements back and forth in front of him.

"You're going to wear a hole right through the carpet" he mentioned eventually. "Will you just please sit down"

"I'm fine" she mumbled in return and Peter sighed.

"All right, fine" he resigned with a shake of his head before leaning back into the couch cushions and deciding to stare up at the ceiling instead.

Another few minutes went by until finally they heard the sound of a car coming up the driveway , followed by the front door opening only a few moments later.

"Mom, Dad?" Zach's voice called out as he entered the quiet house.

"In here Zach" Peter called in return from the living room.

Zach entered the family room to see Peter seated on the couch and Alicia standing in the middle of the living room simply staring at him.

"Hey guys" Zach greeted them nervously. "Thanks for meeting me here Mom"

"Of course" Alicia shook her head. "What's wrong Honey?"

"Maybe… you should sit down" Zack mentioned meekly towards his mother.

"Zach…" Alicia raised a questioning eyebrow at him; not at all liking wherever this was going.

"Mom, please" Zach tried once more and Alicia looked over to Peter who only motioned with a nod of his head for her to come and join him on the sofa.

Flashing Zach an uneasy smile Alicia decided to cooperate and walked over to the sofa and took a seat next to Peter while Zach pulled the ottoman away from one of the lounging chairs and dragged it over to just a few feet in front of his parents and took a seat.

Hanging his head slightly and clasping his hands together Zach took a breath as he tried to figure out an appropriate way to broach the sensitive subject; realizing in a matter of moments that there was no easy or appropriate way to tell your parents that their only daughter had just been sexually victimized.

"Zach, for God's sake what is it? You've had your mother worried half to death" Peter mentioned with a light sigh. "Whatever it is, you can tell us"

"It's Grace…" Zach began, then watched as both parents instantly stiffened up, but it was Peter who was first to speak.

"What happened to Grace? Where is she? Is she all right?" His voice was tense and thick with worry as he waited with baited breath for Zach's reply.

"She's at home, she's sleeping. But something happened earlier. She didn't want me to tell you guys but… You need to know" he told them, rubbing his hands together nervously.

"Something happened at Shannon's?" Alicia asked confused.

"No…" Zach looked away guiltily. "She didn't go to Shannon's. She lied to you about where she was really going tonight"

"Zach, where did she go?" Peter asked very slowly and calmly, but there was an edge to his tone that told Zach he meant business.

"Connor took her to this party that a guy at school was throwing. It was mostly older kids"

"Was there drinking at this party?" Alicia asked; raising an eyebrow at her son.

"Yeah, I guess so. But Grace wasn't drunk or anything, I don't even know if she had any" Zach explained and Alicia slowly nodded.

"Well, you did the right thing telling us Zach. I can't believe she would lie right to me like that. I'll deal with Grace when I get home, she's going to be grounded and I don't think she should be spending any more time with that Connor boy, he always seems to be getting her into trouble" Alicia mentioned with a shake of her head.

"No, Mom, that's not what I had to tell you" Zach began again and both Peter and Alicia exchanged worried glances.

"What happened at the party?" Peter questioned.

"It's Connor he…" Zach paused to take another breath before continuing. "He took Grace upstairs to a bedroom and Grace said there were just kissing but then Connor, he tried to take it further but Grace said no so he tried to… you know" Zach shrugged; not being able to bring himself to say the words and Alicia looked at him with both shock and worry.

"Zach, did he-"

"No, No" Zach quickly shook his head, knowing his mother was about to ask if Connor had succeeded in taking advantage of her. "I think, I don't know, I think he tried to hurt her, I'm sure I didn't get the full story but I know Grace was able to fight him off before it went too far and she got away and that's when she called me"

"Oh my God" Alicia whispered, bringing her hand to cover over her mouth as her eyes instantly welled up with tears for her one and only baby girl.

"That son of a bitch" Peter practically growled, standing up from the couch and pacing the floor, running a hand through his hair as he felt a sudden rush of anger course through him like he'd never felt before. The room remained silent for a few more moments as both Alicia and Peter tried to take in what they had just heard and again it was Peter who was the first to speak up.

"Zach, put your coat on, we're leaving" Peter ordered seemingly calmly and Zach quickly looked between his mother and his father, unsure what exactly was going on.

"Peter, what are you doing?" Alicia asked; shaking her head as she was still slightly dazed from the shock.

"Zach's going to show me were this little bastard is, because I'm going to kill him" Peter seethed through gritted teeth. "Zach, now!" he demanded once again, louder this time and it caused Zach to scramble to his feet.

"Zach, sit down" his mother ordered and Zach stopped halfway through the living room next to his father and looked back to his mother.

"What the hell are you doing Peter?" Alicia asked, now standing up from the couch herself as the initial shock began to wear off.

"This monster attacked our child, Alicia!" Peter was practically screaming at her from across the room as his anger continued to boil inside him. "What are we supposed to do, just let him get away with it?" He scoffed at her in disbelief.

"Of course not! But what are you going to do, beat up a 17 year old? Why don't I just call up your old prison and make you a reservation" she snapped back at him.

"I'd gladly spend the rest of my life in prison if it meant he never got the chance to even look at her again" He admitted angrily and the conviction in his voice literally sent chills down her spine.

"Great, then you can really be there for our daughter when she needs you most" she countered with a roll of her eyes.

"Fine" he shrugged. "I can keep my hands clean. You don't think I didn't meet all kinds of people on the inside? I'm owed a lot of favours, you know. They can make it look like an accident, just one phone call from me and-"

"Peter!" Alicia gasped in shock.

"That's my daughter" he practically growled at her. "And I would do _anything_ to protect her. To hell with the repercussions"

"Oh, and just _to hell_ with your family too? What happens to us, huh Peter? Do we even factor into this little plan of yours? Did you even think-"

"You're all I think about!" he screamed back, interrupting her mid-sentence. "Everything I do, I put my family first" he stated firmly.

"Great, maybe we can put that on your next campaign slogan when you get out of prison the next time. _If_ you get out" she yelled back, her voice just as loud as his now.

"Look, if you think I'm just going to stand here and-"

"Guys, just stop!" Zach yelled suddenly over both his shouting parents and a silence immediately fell over the room as Alicia and Peter just stared at their son; both instantly feeling guilty for him having to witness their screaming match.

"Look, I get that everyone is upset, but standing here and yelling at each other isn't going to do anybody any good; least of all Grace" Zach stated firmly and Alicia and Peter exchanged remorseful glances.

"You're right Zach, we're sorry" Alicia said calmly, letting out a breath to settle herself. "Where is your sister now?"

"She's at home. She literally cried herself to sleep. She begged me not to tell you guys what happened because she thought she'd be in trouble, but I knew I had to so I left her there and called Uncle Owen and asked him to come over and just stay there in case she wakes up and gets scared" he finished with a small shrug. "I'm sorry, I know I probably shouldn't have left her, but she was asleep and Uncle Owen is only a few minutes away and I knew I had tell you guys" he continued nervously.

"You did the right thing" Peter said quietly. "Come here" he motioned with a nod of his head and pulled Zach against his side and wrapped his arms around him in a hug.

"Sorry I yelled, it's just... this is upsetting news, obviously. I was angry, I reacted to that anger" Peter continued softly as he rested his chin on top of Zach's head and held him for a few more seconds before releasing him.

"It's okay Dad, I understand" Zach mentioned with a small shrug.

"No, it's not okay" Peter shook his head regretfully. "I shouldn't have said those things it's just..." Peter paused and let out a sigh. He wasn't exactly remorseful for what he said, only that he said it out loud and in front of his child no less.

"Your Dad and I were both just shocked and caught off guard" Alicia continued for him after a moment. "We love you kids so much and when your child is threatened, well, you can't help how you react in the heat of the moment. But regardless, we shouldn't be fighting in front of you, and we're sorry"

"Mom, it's okay, I get it" Zach assured her. "And if it's any consolation Dad, I didn't _exactly_ let Connor get away with it either…" he said meekly towards his father.

"Zach" Alicia gasped in surprise. "You… hit Connor?" she asked and he nodded his head.

"And I'd do it again" he quickly defended. "I know you always say violence doesn't solve anything, but he deserved it Mom. He hurt Grace"

Alicia bit her lower lip and slowly nodded at Zach's admission. Peter said nothing; just put his hand on Zach's shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze, silently telling him he's proud of him without actually speaking the words out loud.

"You're a good big brother Zach" Alicia said gently after a moment of silence had passed. She knew she couldn't fault him for how he reacted, she probably would have reacted the same if she were the one there, and it was no secret how Peter would have reacted had he gotten the chance. She knew deep down he wasn't capable of real violence towards a child but she was also certain being thrown up against a wall and having threats uttered wasn't completely out of the question.

"Well, speaking of which, I should probably get home. I didn't tell Uncle Owen what happened so I think I should be there in case Grace wakes up. You guys probably want to talk anyway so I'll meet you at home" Zach said before nodding a goodnight to both his parents and heading out of the living room and towards the front door.

"Zach" Alicia called out and Zach stopped to look back at his parents.

"I love you" she told him softly.

"Thanks for coming to tell us" Peter added and Zach nodded before turning back away from them.

Peter and Alicia heard the front door open and close and then there was just the two of them standing in the living room, the silence between them hanging thick in the air as neither of them knew where to even begin.

Peter was staring at Alicia with his hands in his pockets but Alicia's gaze was fixed strictly on the carpeted floor at her feet as she rubbed her hands together in an effort to distract herself from the silence.

"Alicia…" Peter let out softly but before he could speak another word Alicia let out a small whimper and as her shoulders started to gently shake Peter realized she had begun crying.

Quickly crossing the room Peter threw his arms around Alicia and pulled her against his chest as her quiet cry turned into full-on sobbing. Hot tears dampened his shirt as he held her in a tight embrace, gently rocking her from side to side in an attempt to offer her more comfort.

"Shhhh, it's okay, it's gonna be okay" he whispered against her hair.

"Our baby" Alicia choked out, clutching Peter's shirt as the tears continued to flow.

"I know Honey, I know" Peter soothed; his voice breaking slightly as he felt the familiar sting in his eyes of his own tears threatening to fall.

"But she's okay" Peter continued a moment later, his voice still slightly betraying him but trying to stay strong for both of them and refusing to let his tears fall. "We raised a smart girl. In fact, we raised two smart kids and it's because of that that we're not having this conversation in a police station or hospital"

"I know" Alicia said through a sniffle. "I just… She must have been so scared Peter" she mentioned before tears began falling once more and she shook her head against him.

"Hey" Peter mentioned softly, pulling back from Alicia slightly and tilting her chin up so he could look her in the eyes. "We're going to get her through this. And first thing in the morning I'm going to file a restraining order for her against Connor. He'll be expelled from school and Grace won't ever have to see him again" he promised, wiping away a tear from her cheek.

Alicia simply nodded her head before Peter pulled her in for one final embrace; holding her closely against his chest and placing a gentle kiss against her temple.

"I need to see her" Alicia eventually mumbled against his shirt and she felt his head nod.

"I know. I'll drive"

* * *

_Thoughts? Reviews are love :)_


	4. Chapter 4

**The Good Wife: Family Values**

**Chapter 4**

_A/N: You guys are amazing. Thank you for all your kind words of support! This chapter is sort of a 'filler' chapter but there's some good moments in here I think... I hope you all enjoy it!  
_

* * *

The drive back to the apartment was one of mostly silence as both Peter and Alicia reflected on everything they had just been through. Looking to his right Peter regarded Alicia for a moment as he watched her staring contemplatively out the window while they coasted down the freeway. She seemed to be miles away, lost in her own thoughts and he let out a small sigh as he reached over, covering her hand with his and giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

Alicia turned towards him, flashing him the smallest hint of a smile but still not saying anything. Instead she turned her hand over in his so they could lace their fingers together and she held onto him tightly before focusing her gaze back out the window and Peter turned his attention back to the road ahead of them as they continued their drive back to Alicia's apartment.

A few minutes later they entered the parking garage and stepped out of the car and caught the sight of Owen only a few yards away from them about to climb into his own car.

"Owen!" Alicia called out; startling her brother as he jumped slightly and fumbled with his keys before they fell to the concrete at his feet.

"Jeez, don't you know better than to scare the crap out of somebody in a dark parking lot!" Owen grumbled, reaching down for his keys.

"Sorry" Alicia apologized as her and Peter finally made their way to his car and stood next to him.

"Zach relieved me of my duties, so I'm off to go back home" Owen mentioned, standing upright again before them.

"Thanks for staying with Grace tonight" Peter mentioned sincerely with a nod of gratitude towards his brother-in-law.

"Okay, what is going on? Zach said the same thing. Several times in fact. Why is everyone thanking me for something I've done easily dozens of times?" Owen asked puzzled, looking between both Alicia and Peter. It was of course no secret that he and Peter rarely ever saw eye to eye on anything and they made it a point to limit conversation between them unless absolutely necessary so for Peter to go out of his way to thank him for something it seemed only natural to Owen that something was amiss.

Alicia made no move to answer Owen's question, she simply exchanged glances with Peter which only confused Owen further.

"Okay, seriously, what?" Owen asked again, raising a quizzical eyebrow at the two of them.

"Nothing" Alicia shook her head after a moment. "Look, I promise we'll talk about it another time but it's getting late, we've got to get upstairs to the kids"

"Oooohkay" Owen drew out his response. "You're sure everything's all right?" He asked again just to be certain.

"I'll call you tomorrow. Good night" is all Alicia replied with before giving her brother a small smile and looking back towards Peter and gesturing for them to get going.

"Okay, good night…" Owen mentioned hesitantly as Peter and Alicia turned away from him and headed towards the apartment building.

Once inside the building Alicia let them into the apartment quietly to ensure they wouldn't wake Grace as they entered. Peter removed his jacket and tossed it over the coat rack before reaching for Alicia's and allowing her to slide out of it and hanging it next to his.

"Zach" Peter greeted their son with a nod as they slowly entered further into the apartment and saw Zach sitting at the kitchen island with his laptop open in front of him.

"Hey Dad, Mom" Zach smiled weakly at his parents. "You guys okay?"

"We're okay" Alicia confirmed with a small smile before walking up next to Zach and pushing the hair back from his forehead to plant a kiss there. "Whatcha doing?" she asked, looking at his open computer.

"Just looking at some campaign stuff" he nodded towards the webpage. "I wanted to stay awake until you got home just in case Grace got up but she's still sleeping, I guess she's out for the night" he said with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Thank you sweetie" Alicia smiled at her son, proud of him for being so thoughtful and caring of his sister.

"Well, I'm going to get to bed, kind of been a long night" Zach admitted as he closed the lid to his laptop and stepped down from the bar stool. "Night Mom, night Dad"

"Good night" both Peter and Alicia echoed each other and Zach gave them one last small smile as he turned away and headed into his own bedroom, closing the door behind him.

"So," Peter sighed, leaning back against the counter and looking at Alicia expectantly.

"I just want to check on her" Alicia mentioned.

"I don't think we should wake her, she's been through so much already" Peter told her gently.

"I won't" Alicia quickly shook her head. "I just need to see her"

"Okay" Peter sighed, nodding for her to lead the way, which she did.

Quietly taking a seat on the edge of Grace's bed Alicia gently ran her hand over her daughter's hair, being cautious not to wake her. Peter stood leaning against the door frame and looked on as Alicia was finally able to find some comfort simply by being near their daughter and confirming she was in fact now safe from any more harm. He let her remain at her bedside for a few more minutes before quietly crossing the room and gently putting a hand on his wife's shoulder. Alicia brought her free hand up to cover Peter's, wrapping her fingers around his hand and giving it a small squeeze as she let out a sigh of content.

Peter closed his eyes for a brief moment, allowing the feeling of family closeness to wash over him; realizing he hasn't felt relief like this since the time they thought Grace was missing and the moment they shared as a family when she had finally returned home to them and he held them both in his arms.

Finally deciding it was probably best they take their leave Peter leaned down next to Alicia and pressed his lips to her ear in a soft whisper.

"Come on, let's let her sleep"

Alicia merely nodded in agreement before quietly lifting herself off the bed and following Peter out of the room; stopping one final time at the door frame to look over their peacefully sleeping daughter.

"Night Grace" she whispered into the room before closing the door, leaving her and Peter alone again in the hallway.

"Feel better?" Peter asked gently and Alicia nodded.

"Come here" he sighed, pulling Alicia against him and wrapping his arms around her once more. She held onto him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder and was content to just let him hold her for a few minutes. It had been an emotionally exhausting night and it was times like these she was glad her and Peter still shared some closeness and were able to unite as a family when need be.

"You okay?" He asked after a few minutes of silence had passed between them and she nodded against his shoulder before taking a step back and looking up at him.

"Yeah, I think so. Just tired" she said, smiling weakly at him.

"Yeah, it's late" Peter sighed, bringing his wrist up to look at his watch and noticing that it was already past midnight.

"Listen," he began again a moment later. "I was thinking, would it be alright if… I'd like to be here when Grace wakes up"

"Of course" Alicia quickly shook her head, realizing she should have offered to let him stay already. "You should stay"

"Thanks" he nodded, giving her a small smile. "I'll just grab some blankets and stay on the couch" he mentioned and she nodded.

"That would be fine"

"Okay well, good night" he told her before leaning in towards her and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Good night" she smiled back at him before turning away and heading into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Alicia sighed heavily as she rolled over and looked at her bedside clock once more. It was nearly 3 a.m. and she still had yet to fall asleep. She couldn't get Grace out of her thoughts and didn't exactly want to either. She worried for her so much and couldn't stop the terrible thoughts that entered her mind every time she closed her eyes to try and fall asleep.

Sick of tossing and turning she finally decided to get up and get a glass of water; hoping even getting up and moving around a bit might clear the thoughts from her head and allow her to finally get some rest. She was thankful that tomorrow was a Saturday and there was no work and no school so hopefully everyone would be able to sleep in at least a little bit and give her a chance for at least a few hours of rest before what was sure to be another very long day began.

She still had no idea what her and Peter were going to say to Grace. They hadn't talked about it yet, she assumed they would do that tomorrow once they'd both had a chance to get some rest and, more so for Peter's sake, let the anger subside. She was certain if Peter had his way Grace would be home schooled the rest of her life and not be allowed to date until she was Thirty.

Alicia almost laughed at that thought. _Men and their daughters..._ she mused inwardly. Her father had been the same way with her. She thought back to the first time she had brought Peter home to meet her parents. It was Thanksgiving and she had four days off from law school so her and Peter had made the drive down to spend the holiday with her family. Her mother was thrilled that she had 'finally' in her words, met someone. Her father on the other hand seemed skeptical, especially when he heard that this 'guy' she was seeing was in fact a man. A man five years her senior, who had already finished school and begun practicing the law. When they had pulled into the driveway and gotten out of the car her father had walked up to greet Peter carrying an axe over his shoulder; inviting him to help collect some firewood for the weekend. Alicia was certain her father merely wanted Peter to witness just how hard he could swing an axe, in case he might have any misguided intentions towards his only daughter. After all, he had no reason to drag that same axe into the house later that evening and lean it against his recliner when he invited Peter in the room to watch a football game. _Oh what a weekend that had been..._ Alicia shook her head at the memory.

Finally getting out of bed and stepping out into the darkened hallway Alicia didn't bother to turn any lights on, not wanting to wake Peter on the couch. She tiptoed her way into the kitchen, thankful she knew her kitchen by memory and didn't need to see to be able to know exactly where everything was. She reached to the cupboard next to the refrigerator and felt around for a glass until she found one and pulled it down. Quietly pulling the refrigerator door open the bright glow from inside caused her to squint her eyes as she tried to adjust to the light. She started to reach for the water jug but was nearly startled out of her skin when a deep voice came from behind her.

"Couldn't sleep either huh?" Peter had asked and Alicia jumped slightly where she stood.

"Peter, you scared me" she gasped, holding a hand to her chest. Collecting herself again she moved to pick up the water jug and filled her glass before turning around to face him; the soft light from the refrigerator making it possible for her to see him. Peter was leaning against the counter on the opposite side of the kitchen from her, dressed only in his dress pants and a white undershirt and holding his own glass of water in his hand.

"Sorry" he told her sincerely, placing his glass down on the counter top.

"What are you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep" he shrugged. "You?"

"Yeah, same" she shrugged in agreement. "Every time I close my eyes I just see Grace and…" she stopped herself, shaking her head and bringing her free hand over her face, willing the images to go away.

"I know" Peter sighed. "You can hear a pin drop out here, and every little creak or noise I thought it was Grace. I got up at least a dozen times and had to stop myself just outside her door when I realized it was nothing. After a while I was so tired I spent about a half an hour just sitting on the floor against the wall next to her door because I didn't think I had the energy to make it back to the couch" he admitted with a sad chuckle.

Alicia regarded him for a moment and offered him a small smile. She could fault him for many things, but being a father and a protector certainly weren't among them. She was glad he was here with them now because as close as she was to Grace, she knew that she was and had always been a "Daddy's Girl" first and it was always Peter's comfort she would sought out first and it had been that way ever since Grace was little. Alicia let out a small chuckle as she recalled a fond memory of her daughter and Peter looked up at her expectantly from across the room.

"What's funny?" He asked after a moment and Alicia smiled and shook her head.

"Nothing, I was just thinking, remember when Grace was little, whenever she hurt herself, scraped her knee or whatever, she wouldn't even let me put a band-aid on her because _'Daddy had to do it'_" she recalled the memory with a soft smile and Peter let out a quiet laugh.

"And Daddy had to kiss it better" Peter added as the memories washed over him as well.

"Yeah" Alicia gave a sad smile. "I wish things were still that simple. There's no band-aid for this" she lamented with a tired sigh.

"No, I guess not" Peter agreed, running a hand through his hair. "You look exhausted" he mentioned as he slowly made his way across the kitchen to stand in front of her.

"I'm okay" she lied, giving a small shrug of her shoulders.

"You know for a lawyer, you're a terrible liar" he smirked at her.

"I know, shut up" she whined in response and Peter couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him.

"Come on" he mentioned softly, taking the glass of water from her hand and placing it gently on the counter before taking her hand in his and leading her out of the kitchen.

"What are we-" Alicia began to object but Peter interrupted.

"Shhhh, come on, you're going to get some sleep" he explained, gently pulling her along with him as he headed towards her bedroom.

Letting them inside the room he closed the door behind them and walked Alicia over to the bed and pulled back the covers.

Alicia regarded him for a brief moment, but deciding she was too tired to even attempt to argue she simply crawled into the bed and Peter pulled the blankets up around her. She curled herself up on her side and watched as Peter left her and made his way around to the other side of the bed. She felt the mattress dip slightly under his weight and then strong arms came and wrapped around her as Peter pulled her back slightly against his chest.

"I'll just stay until you fall asleep" he whispered against her hair before placing a gentle kiss there and Alicia relaxed into his embrace and finally allowed her eyes to close for the final time that night.

* * *

_Well, this seems like a good place for a chapter break. Sorry we didn't make much headway in the story with this chapter, it was mostly about A & P comforting each other. Up next it will be morning and the family will have to begin to talk about what happened and face what comes next. Stay tuned, and please review!_


	5. Chapter 5

**The Good Wife: Family Values**

**Chapter 5**

_A/N: Huge thanks to Steffi for being a sounding board for this chapter, and to all my faithful readers and reviewers out there, thank you so much! Your support means a lot to me!_

* * *

Alicia struggled as she awoke the next morning to adjust her vision to the rich morning light that was pouring in through the blinds and making it next to impossible for her to read the digital clock on her bedside table. Decidedly giving up on that notion she reached instead for her cell phone, bringing it within inches of her face and pressing the unlock key so she could read the time with a backlit display.

"8:30" Alicia groaned, realizing that even though it was a Saturday she still needed to get up and couldn't spend all day lying around in bed. She carefully tossed her phone back onto the bedside table and with a long yawn she rolled over to the middle of the bed, pushing her arms above her head in a stretch.

It wasn't until a warm hand spread itself across her partially exposed abdomen and a deep yawn came from beside her that she realized she was not alone in her bed.

Quickly lowering her arms and fixing her sleep shirt that had ridden up during her stretch she rolled partially to the opposite side to see that Peter was still in her bed.

"Peter!" she whispered in quiet shock, shaking his shoulder in an attempt to rouse him.

"Hmmmm" he mumbled incoherently; eyes still closed as he burrowed his face further into the pillow.

"Peter" she shook him again, a little harder this time to try and wake him.

"Hmm, yeah, what? I'm up" Peter grumbled sleepily as he slowly brought himself out of his reverie, lifting a hand to rub over his face.

"Peter" she called his name a final time and it seemed to do the trick as she saw his shoulders instantly tense up and he shot up in the bed.

"Alicia…" he gasped in surprise, rubbing a hand through his hair. "Damnit, I'm sorry, I guess I fell asleep"

"I see that" she deadpanned.

"Sorry" he frowned. "I don't even know when I-"

"It's okay" she interrupted with a slight shake of her head. "Don't beat yourself up, we were both exhausted last night. Besides, we both know you're about a foot too tall to sleep comfortably on that couch, you probably never would've fallen asleep" she said and he chuckled but nodded his head in agreement.

"That's true. My back is forever grateful to you I'm sure"

"But" She continued almost immediately. "We should get up and go out there before the kids wake up and… Well,"

"It's okay, I know" Peter nodded, pushing the blankets aside and climbing out of the bed. He knew the last thing they both needed right now is for their children to see them sharing a bed. He was confused enough in this situation as it is and he was part of the arrangement, he couldn't imagine how confused Zach and Grace would be. Of course they wouldn't understand it, he didn't even understand it himself.

Alicia got up as well and headed out of the bedroom with Peter following closely behind her and closing the door to her bedroom behind them.

"I'll start some coffee, do you want to grab the-" Alicia began and then stopped suddenly when she rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw Zach seated at the kitchen island staring at his parents who just emerged from the same bedroom; Alicia in her pajamas and Peter still in his dress pants and undershirt.

"Milk." she finished on a dead whisper; suddenly feeling like a deer caught in headlights, feet frozen to the floor and unable to take another step closer.

"Morning Zach" Peter greeted their son in an attempt to remain casual; noting how tense Alicia became the moment she noticed him.

"Morning Dad, Mom…" he acknowledged them both with a small grin spreading across his lips.

"Zach, shouldn't you be getting ready for school?" Alicia questioned and both Zach and Peter gave her a questioning glance.

"Mom, it's Saturday…" Zach explained and Alicia closed her eyes, put a hand to her forehead and slowly shook her head.

"Guess you really do need that coffee" Peter chimed in teasingly in an effort to ease some of the attention away from Alicia's obvious discomfort.

"Come on" he said, nudging her shoulder with his and nodding his head towards the coffee maker on the other side of the kitchen.

Zach seemingly lost interest and went back to reading the back of the cereal carton and finishing his breakfast.

Standing at the kitchen counter Alicia nervously fumbled with the coffee filters, trying to separate them from each other and nearly losing every last bit of patience she had left when suddenly Peter's hands came to cover over hers and stopping her movements.

"Just relax" he whispered quietly next to her ear so that Zach couldn't overhear them. "The couch is still made up with blankets, for all he knows I slept there all night and we were just talking in your room so Grace wouldn't hear us" he surmised and Alicia let out a breath and nodded her head.

"Let me make the coffee, why don't you go check on Grace?" Peter suggested softly and Alicia nodded in agreement.

Turning away from him Alicia headed out of the kitchen, stopping next to Zach on her way to Grace's room and running her hand over his hair before placing a kiss on the top of his head.

Leaving the kitchen Alicia heard Peter begin a conversation with Zach, asking him how he had slept and a smile crossed Alicia's lips, glad she could count on him to ease all the tension from this morning's unfortunate encounter.

She paused for a moment outside Grace's door as her hand rested on the handle and she took a deep breath in an attempt to settle her nerves. After a brief moment she finally pushed the door open and poked her head inside.

"Grace?" She called out softly into the darkened room; the subtle light from the hallway the only source of light in the room.

"Mom?" She heard Grace answer quietly as she sat up in her bed and turned on the small bedside lamp.

"Yeah sweetie, it's me" Alicia confirmed, closing the door quietly behind her as she stepped further into the room until she was at Grace's bedside.

"Mind if I sit?" She asked and Grace nodded.

Taking a seat on the edge of the bed Alicia flashed Grace a small but sad smile and ran a hand over her hair.

"So," Alicia said through a sigh and Grace frowned at her.

"Did Zach tell you?" she asked meekly and Alicia slowly nodded.

"Yes, your brother told me everything" she confirmed.

"Are… are you mad?"

"What?" Alicia gasped in surprise. "No, Honey, of course not" she answered quickly before throwing her arms around Grace and pulling her against her in a tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry Mom" Grace began through quiet sobs and tears instantly welled in Alicia's eyes as she held her daughter and began rocking her slightly.

"Shhhh, Grace it's okay" Alicia soothed gently; willing her voice not to betray her as she tried to sound strong for daughter.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Grace asked weakly and Alicia felt another piece of her heart break for her.

"Oh Grace, of course not" Alicia quickly shook her head.

"Listen to me Grace" Alicia began again, pulling Grace back slightly so she could look her in the eyes. "What happened to you, it is not your fault. Do you understand me?"

"But I shouldn't have-"

"No" Alicia immediately cut her off with a shake of her head before she had a chance to continue. "What Connor did to you, trying to take advantage, it's never okay. And I need you to understand that okay?" She stated firmly and Grace slowly nodded.

"I know you're still upset and might feel uncomfortable about this but we do need to talk about it, okay?" Alicia began gently. "Your father and I-"

"Dad knows?!" Grace interrupted with a shocked gasp. "Mom, he's going to be so mad," she trailed off as her tears began flowing freely once more.

"No Sweetie, it's all right" Alicia tried to comfort her, rubbing a hand over her back. "You're Dad's not mad either. He's worried about you, just like I am, okay?"

"Does he know ev…everything?" Grace stuttered nervously and Alicia nodded.

"Yes. Well, as much as you told Zach I suppose" she amended with a light shrug. "But we need to know exactly what happened"

"No, Mom, I can't-" Grace began, shaking her head as more tears continued to fall.

"Grace I know it's hard, but your Dad and I are here for you. Everything will be all right and you might even feel better after you talk about it" Alicia explained gently.

Before Grace had another chance to object they heard a soft knock on the bedroom door and Grace jumped slightly, scrambling further up the bed.

"That's probably your Dad" Alicia mentioned softly towards Grace. "I'm going to let him in okay?" She asked and Grace slowly nodded her approval.

Standing up from the bed Alicia went over to the door and swung it open to see Peter standing on the other side with a coffee mug in hand.

"How's she doing?" He asked quietly and Alicia gave a small shrug.

"She's scared, she thinks we're going to be mad at her" she explained and Peter let out a small sigh and nodded his head in understanding.

"Here" he mentioned, extending the steaming mug towards her. "You probably need this"

"Thank you" she smiled softly at him as she stepped aside and let him enter the room.

"Hi Grace" Peter mentioned quietly as he stepped further into the room and saw his daughter sitting up in bed with her knees bent in front of her and her arms wrapped around her legs.

"Hi Dad…" Grace said through a quiet sniffle; her voice on the verge of breaking again.

"Oh Sweetie, please don't cry" Peter sighed, quickly closing the rest of the distance between them and sitting on the bed before gathering Grace in his arms and pulling her into his lap.

He held onto her for what seemed like a small eternity, gently rocking her in his arms and rubbing her back as she cried against his shoulder; neither of them speaking a word as he allowed her to just let out all of her pain, his strong arms holding her safely against him until her quiet sobs finally began to subside.

"I love you Grace" he told her sincerely before pulling her back slightly to plant a kiss on her forehead and she nodded her head.

"I love you too Dad" she replied with the smallest hint of a smile playing on her lips.

Crawling out of her father's lap, Grace stood up from the bed and pulled her computer chair over next to the bed and sat down on it, crossing her legs underneath her and letting out a steady breath as she braced herself to begin the conversation she knew she couldn't hide from much longer.

Peter looked up to Alicia and patted the spot next to him on the bed and she crossed the room and came to sit beside him. He reached behind them and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and she returned with a small smile towards him before they both turned their heads to face Grace.

"So, why don't you just start at the beginning, tell us what happened" Peter said calmly and Grace slowly nodded her head.

"Okay" she began, heaving a heavy sigh before beginning into her story of all that had happened last night.

Peter and Alicia listened intently as Grace nervously explained the events that occurred. As her story got more and more graphic Alicia unconsciously reached over and grasped Peter's hand, lacing their fingers together and holding on to him tightly to try and settle the overbearing emotions that were coursing through her. As his grip tightened on her while Grace began explaining Connor's harsh words towards her she placed her free hand over top of their joined ones and gently ran her thumb across the back of his hand; repeating the motion over and over again to hopefully distract him somewhat from the anger she knew was rising inside him.

True to his word Peter managed to keep his anger at bay; at least on the outside. On the inside he was quite certain he could actually feel his blood boiling and he finally understood where the expression came from. He looked down to Alicia's hand in his and lessened his grip; not even realizing he had let it get so tight in the first place.

"And then Zach brought me home" Grace concluded her story as she finally built up the courage to raise her head up and look her parents in the eyes.

"You did the right thing calling somebody" Alicia told her gently. "You know no matter what, no matter how much trouble you think you'll be in, if you find yourself in a dangerous situation you call one of us, okay?" She asked and Grace quickly nodded her head in agreement.

"Well" Peter sighed, dropping his hands into his lap and looking over towards Grace. "You should probably get dressed and ready"

"Why?" Grace asked hesitantly, raising an eyebrow at her father. "Where are we going?"

"We have to report this to the police sweetheart" he told her gently but she quickly shook her head and tears instantly welled in her eyes again.

"What?" She gasped in surprise. "Daddy, please, no! I don't want to, Mom please don't make me" she begged through her now quickly falling tears.

Alicia's heart broke at the sight and she didn't have the heart to tell her daughter that it was necessary and needed to be done. She knew Peter wanted to press charges and she did as well. Grace however seemed to think it would all be over once she had told the story to her parents. Alicia swallowed the hard lump in her throat and looked up expectantly towards Peter.

"Grace, sweetheart, we have to press charges" he explained gently but she shook her head once more.

"Daddy no, I can't. Please, please don't make me go" she begged him, quickly getting up from her chair and throwing herself into his arms as she sobbed against his chest.

Peter let out a heavy sigh, bringing his arms up around Grace and holding her in his lap once more. He felt terrible and helpless for her that there wasn't more he could do to take her pain away but he knew this was the right thing to do, no matter how much the initial thought scared her.

He gently rocked her for a few minutes, stroking a hand through her hair and the other holding her tightly against him. He looked over to Alicia who now had tears of her own welling up in her eyes and his heart suddenly felt very heavy in his chest. He would have done anything to never have seen his family hurt this way and decided then and there that he was going to do anything to prevent it from happening again.

As Grace's sobs slowly subsided into muffled sniffles against his chest he gently pulled back from her so he was able to look her in the eyes. Her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks tear-stained and his heart broke once more at the sight of her.

"I'm so sorry Gracie" he told her sincerely and she merely nodded her head before bringing a hand up to wipe under her eyes.

"Why don't you just rest for a few minutes and I'm going to talk to your Mom for a bit okay?" He told her softly and she nodded her head.

"Kay" she replied through a sniffle.

"I love you" he told her before leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I love you too"

He picked her up from his lap and placed her back in her bed as Alicia too stood up and gave them some room. Pulling the blankets up around her he tucked her in and bent down to place another kiss on her forehead.

"We'll be back" he told her softly before taking Alicia by the hand and leading her out of the room.

They entered the hallway, closing Grace's bedroom door behind them and when Alicia saw Zach seated on the couch in the living room watching tv her hand instinctively gripped Peter's a little tighter and he knew exactly what she was trying to communicate, that she didn't want Zach seeing her as distraught as she felt right now so without a word he continued leading her straight to her bedroom and closed the door behind him once they got inside.

The moment the door closed Alicia collapsed in Peter's arms, crying harder than she had been the previous evening when they first heard the news. He knew it would be tough on both of them to see Grace so upset and he was actually surprised they both had managed to hold it together as well as they had in front of their daughter.

"Alicia I'm so sorry" Peter managed before he himself succumbed to the emotionally trying day and began shedding his own tears; not able to keep them inside any longer.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry" he continued repeating as he buried himself further into the crook of her neck and let his tears spill onto her shoulder. He could feel her gently shaking in his arms as his tight grip remained around her and he knew she was letting all of her pain out as well. They remained in the embrace for what seemed like hours but had actually only been minutes until both their tears began to subside and they were able to face each other again. Gently pushing her back from him Peter looked Alicia in the eyes and offered her a sad smile before reaching up to wipe a tear away from her with his thumb.

"Baby I'm so sorry" he admitted once more before leaning his forehead against hers and gently shaking his head at what he felt was his own defeat.

"Peter, don't" she spoke softly, bringing a hand up to rest on his cheek. "You have nothing to be sorry for"

"I'm supposed to protect her, protect all of you"

"Peter" she sighed his name sadly. "Sometimes, these things happen, and we can't control them. It's not your fault, you're a good father" she told him sincerely and he took a step back from her and quickly wiped away the last of his remaining tears and took a steadying breath.

"I could be better" he told her firmly. "Our family it's… it's broken. And I know that that's my fault" he finished on a dead whisper.

"Oh, Peter," Alicia began to object but he quickly silenced her with a shake of his head and a raised hand in front of her.

"No, don't, don't tell me that isn't the case because it is and I'm not looking for pity or sympathy. I made mistakes and I will forever be making up for them, I know that" he told her genuinely.

"Now, as far as this Connor thing goes," he began again, heaving an exasperated sigh and running a hand through his hair.

"Peter, maybe… maybe Grace is right, and we shouldn't press charges" Alicia offered quietly and Peter looked up at her in surprise.

"What?"

"Just, think about it for a second" Alicia bargained, placing a hand on his arm. "If we press charges, this will get paraded through the press. It's not going to matter if Connor gets kicked out of school because Grace will never want to show her face there again, or anywhere for that matter. This could destroy her Peter. And certainly not that I'm trying to make light of the situation or what happened to her, but whatever we could charge him with certainly wouldn't be enough to make up for everything it would have put Grace through. At most he would be slapped with a sexual misdemeanour charge and given that he's a minor he might even get off with probation and in a year when he turns 18, his record will be clean again. So I have to ask myself, is it worth it?"

"Are you suggesting we do nothing?" Peter asked, a hint of surprise and perhaps even anger in his tone as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"No, no, of course not" she quickly shook her head. "Peter, you're a powerful man, let's not pretend we won't use that to our advantage. I say you sick a team of ASA's on him and offer him a deal before he knows what hit him. Restraining order, expulsion from school, it'll seem like a bargain to him if you dangle the threat of jail time in front of him first. Grace told me he's on scholarship, his family isn't wealthy so chances are they can't afford a lawyer and won't know that he can't be tried as an adult. If they're smart they won't even think about going head-to-head with the State's Attorney over something that can be handled quickly and quietly"

Peter let out a heavy sigh. Everything she said did make sense, especially the part about it being what's best for Grace. He truly did not want to see her suffer any more pain then she already had and he knew a long drawn out criminal charge could do exactly that. Not to mention that she would continually have to re-live the nightmare over and over again until the case was put to rest.

"Maybe… I don't know, maybe you're right" he sighed once more. "Handling this quietly would be the best thing. I don't want to drag Grace through a circus over something that she just wants to forget ever happened. I mean, Eli could put out the fires best he could but there's no doubt the press would be having a field day with it. Their names are protected under the Young Offenders Act, but something tells me that won't stop that sleazebag Kresteva from leaking it somehow"

"We need to think about what's best for Grace" Alicia stated once more.

"I know, you're right" Peter agreed hesitantly. "I'll call Geneva and get her to draft something up for Connor right away. You can go explain it all to Grace and then I want to talk to you about something else afterwards"

"Something else?" She furrowed a brow at him.

"Yeah, I'm not going to get into it right now, but it's important" he told her firmly.

"Oh…okay" she agreed cautiously before leaving the bedroom to head back towards Grace's.

* * *

_A/N: Well, that's it for this chapter. It was an emotional one, I know. Stay tuned because up next Peter drops a bomb on Alicia that could change everything… (insert evil laugh here). Reviews are love!_


	6. Chapter 6

**The Good Wife: Family Values**

**Chapter 6**

_A/N: Sorry it took a while for this update but I wanted to get the next chapter nearly finished before I posted this one so I don't leave you guys hanging for too long.  
_

* * *

"How'd it go with Grace?" Peter asked as Alicia re-entered her bedroom nearly a half hour later and found him sitting at the foot of her bed with his cell phone still clutched in his hands.

"Okay" Alicia shrugged. "She's very grateful that we won't be pressing criminal charges and that we can put this to rest quickly and quietly" Alicia explained as she crossed the room and took a seat next to Peter on the bed.

"Good, good" Peter nodded before letting out a soft sigh. "I called Geneva, she's going to draft something up for us but Grace still needs to give an official statement"

"No I know, I talked to her about that. She's just really tired right now, she didn't sleep well last night and she asked me if she could go back to bed for a bit so she's resting now"

"Well I'm sure she needs it" Peter sighed heavily. "It's alright, we'll let her have the weekend to just give her a break from everything and then I'll take her to the office with me on Monday and we'll get it sorted out then. But in the meantime I'm not sending her back to school while that animal is still there"

"I know" Alicia quickly agreed with a nod of her head before Peter had a chance to get himself worked up again. "Grace knows that too, I told her we'd be keeping her home until we got it sorted out but it would probably only be a day or two at most"

"She can hang out with me at the office on Monday then until I can get out of there. I'd rather not take her back home and leave her by herself, especially if Zach isn't home" Peter mentioned and Alicia nodded again.

"Okay" she agreed softly.

"And, there's one more thing we need to talk about…" Peter said, looking over to Alicia who furrowed her brow in confusion at him.

"Yeah you mentioned that earlier, what's going on?"

"You're probably not going to like this at first, but I need you to hear me out" he stated and it only confused her further.

"Peter, what is it?"

Taking a deep breath Peter stood up from the bed and began pacing back and forth the few feet in front of her. His hand ran through his hair then down the back of his neck where he rubbed it for a few seconds to loosen some tension he was carrying and Alicia tilted her head to the side as she watched him.

_This cannot be good,_ she thought inwardly.

"Peter, you're making _me_ nervous now, will just tell me what's on your mind?" Alicia finally huffed, tired of speculating what exactly he could have to say that has him so worried.

"Alright look" Peter began, finally putting an end to his pacing as he stood in front of where she was seated on the bed and lowered himself down so he was crouched in front of her to face her at eye level.

"I can't help but feel that this is partially our fault" he began quietly. "It's like I said earlier, this hasn't been a real family in years and I know, I know, I'm to blame for that" he quickly amended, holding a hand up in front of her before she had a chance to object.

"I think the kids need more structure, and more stability and I don't know how we're supposed to do that while we're shipping them around every couple days. One night they're with me, the next they're with you, then you're working late so they're with Owen or I'm out of town so they're with Jackie" he finished with a tired sigh and shook his head before continuing. "We went through this once already with Zach, remember all that Becca stuff? That started when he was around the same age Grace is now, when I was in prison"

"Yes, and this happened to Grace when she was supposed to be under my watchful eye as well so clearly I'm the common denominator here. So you're saying that everything is my fault?" she asked in an accusatory tone as she folded her arms across her chest.

"What?" Peter scoffed in surprise. "Alicia, no, of course not" he quickly replied with a shake of his head. "This could've very well happened on my watch too, what I'm saying is that two full-time parents is a hell of a lot better than one half of the time and another the other half, don't you think?"

"What are you trying to say Peter?" Alicia asked confused, narrowing her gaze at Peter who was still crouched in front of her.

"I'm saying that I don't want to do this half way anymore and I think it's best for us and for the kids if we…" he began and then stopped to read Alicia's reaction.

"If we what, Peter?" She urged him to continue, annoyance evident in her tone that he wouldn't just come out and say what he wanted to say.

"If we fixed it" he replied with a small shrug and Alicia furrowed her brow in confusion.

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

"Easy, we become a real family again. You and the kids move back into the house, or hell, I'll move in here, I don't care, I just want us all to be together again"

Alicia gaped at him for what seemed like a small eternity; unable to speak as she was in far too much shock.

"Easy?" she finally said with a huff. "That's your simple go-to solution to fix everything that's happened between us, between our family? Like we can just move on in and suddenly we're what, the Brady bunch? Happy-go-lucky fully functional family unit?"

"Alicia" Peter sighed, he knew better than to know this would be easy. "I know it's a lot to take in right now but," he began but Alicia promptly interrupted.

"A lot to take in? Peter, this isn't one of your campaign speeches where you can just paint me a pretty picture of what our future has to offer. This is our lives, our family"

"Exactly, _our_ family!" Peter stated firmly, rising up on his feet to stand in front of her. "We make decisions _together_, we discuss things _together_"

"So what, I'm the evil dictator of our family now? You don't think I include you in anything?" Alicia challenged, standing up herself so they were now face to face.

"No, I wasn't implying… Look, I didn't bring this up to try and start a fight" he told her sincerely.

"You thought I'd just be on board with this right off the bat? Peter this is…" she paused for a beat as she searched for only word she could think of to sum up the situation. "Crazy!" She finally finished, tossing her hands up in the air in exasperation.

"What's crazy about it?" Peter asked in a sincere tone. "I know it's not exactly like we planned it to happen this way but let's not pretend that we can ignore what's been going on between us lately"

"Ugh Peter can we not have this conversation right now" Alicia muttered with a defeated sigh as she dropped her head into her hands. She had a feeling he was going to bring this up at some point or another, but right now certainly wasn't the time she wanted to deal with it. In fact, she'd be okay if they never had to deal with it at all. She liked things the way they were, easy and uncomplicated. Or, so she thought.

"I think we _need_ to have this conversation" Peter challenged firmly. "We've been sleeping together for months, I think it's time we both stop pretending that it's meaningless and we don't have feelings about it"

"Of course I have feelings about it Peter but…" she began but Peter interrupted once more.

"But what? Look, Alicia, I'm crazy about you and if there is even the _slightest_ chance that you haven't given up on the idea of us yet then I will commit everything I am to making you want us to work just as much as I do"

Alicia said nothing in reply. Instead she simply stared at him for what seemed like an eternity before she was finally able to tear her gaze away from him and sat herself back down on the edge of the bed, folding her hands in her lap.

"Will you say something? Please?" Peter lightly begged, eyeing her from where he stood only a few feet away. "What are you thinking?" he asked quietly.

"I'm thinking…" Alicia paused for a moment to let out a heavy sigh. "I'm thinking that it's not that simple Peter. I wish I could just snap my fingers and pretend the last five years didn't happen but I can't. I'm not ready for this, and... I don't know if I'll ever be"

"So then what are we doing?" Peter asked confused.

"What are we doing?" Alicia asked to clarify as she looked up at Peter's narrowed gaze at her.

"Yeah. Us, the campaign trail, sleeping together. What is all of that?"

"I… I don't know I…" Alicia stuttered slightly; caught off guard by his question.

"We said we were going to work on things but really you had no intentions of working anything out did you?" Peter asked and Alicia lightly shook her head.

"I don't know" she admitted in a dead whisper.

"You know I would get it if this was all just a public display to help me with the campaign. I wouldn't pressure you if you drew the line and told me not to cross it because at least then I'd know where I stood with you. But this..." He waved a hand between them before continuing, "the late night phone calls, the impromptu visits to the campaign bus, none of this is about helping my image so what is it about?"

Alicia didn't reply, instead she remained on the edge of the bed, staring down at her hands that were fidgeting in her lap; anything to avoid his burning gaze that she could feel on her.

Peter let out a sharp chuckle of disbelief before continuing. "Well this about par for the course I guess. I want to talk things out and you'd rather just pretend there's nothing _to_ talk about. So just so I've got this straight, I'm what, in all of this? Your lap dog? You say jump, I say how high?" He asked; his tone accusatory and laced with bitter sarcasm.

"Peter that wasn't-"

"Alicia just stop" Peter interjected sharply. "We don't have to do this, you've made your intentions pretty clear and I've done the same. The unfortunate part is that apparently neither of us want the same thing" He told her and she tore her gaze away from him once more.

"Anyway," he sighed after a moment. "I should probably just leave now" he mentioned, his tone much softer and quieter now.

"Okay" Alicia sighed in defeat, letting her hands fall to either side of her on the bed. "What should I tell Grace about Monday?" She asked and Peter gave her and odd look and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean? It's Saturday, the kids are coming with me. I'll just keep Grace over Sunday night and we'll go into the office on Monday"

"Peter, I don't think-" Alicia began to interject softly before Peter spoke again.

"What, now you're going to tell me when I can and can't see our children?" Peter asked; anger lacing his tone once again. "We have an arrangement Alicia, the kids are with me tonight, I'll bring Zach home tomorrow night and Grace home after work on Monday. I'm sorry I just… I can't be here right now with you" he admitted sadly.

And with that Peter let himself out of Alicia's bedroom; leaving her behind to simply stare at him in bewilderment as he walked away.

"Kids, come on" she heard him call out, followed by a faint response from both Zach and Grace off in the distance.

"Got your stuff?" Peter asked and both Zach and Grace confirmed they did.

"Okay come on, let's go" she heard him say before her body finally caught up with her brain and she was quickly on her feet and storming out into the living room.

"Peter I think Grace should stay home" she said firmly, folding her arms across her chest and both children exchanged stunned glances as they looked back and forth between their parents.

"Alicia, we're not having this conversation" Peter said calmly but in a hardened tone that clearly meant he didn't want to hear another word on the subject. He walked over to the front door and held it open and both Zach and Grace slowly made their way out into the hallway; unsure what exactly they were supposed to do in this situation and who to listen to.

"Really? Because ten minutes ago you were all about open communication Peter" she accused bitterly. "Suddenly when it's something you want it's not up for discussion?"

"You want to have this conversation right now? Fine" he practically shouted as he turned back to face her. "You want to control when I can and can't see my children, take me to court"

"Excuse me?" She scoffed at him.

"Divorce me" he stated firmly; his tone so cold it sent a shiver down her spine. "Sue me for custody and you can fight me for them there"

Alicia gasped, frozen in shock from his words just as the door slammed shut and she was left standing alone in the middle of an empty apartment.

* * *

_A/N: I know, there's a special kind of hell for people like me... I hope you all don't hate me too much for ending the chapter here, but I have to. My sincerest apologies, but please stay tuned for the next chapter and leave me a review (or death threat, whatever tickles your fancy) :)_


	7. Chapter 7

**The Good Wife: Family Values**

**Chapter 7**

_A/N: You can all thank Kiki and Josie for this chapter going up today. And I'd like to thank them for being my cheerleaders :)  
_

* * *

"Damnit" Peter sighed the moment the door shut behind him; immediately feeling guilty for the way he had just spoke to Alicia. He stood in the hallway suddenly feeling unable to take another step away from the door behind him.

"Dad, is everything okay?" Zach asked cautiously as he looked over to his father who had his hand held to his forehead and was lightly shaking his head.

"Yeah. Here Zach," Peter began, reaching into his pants pocket and fishing out his car keys. "Take Grace and go get some lunch, I'll see you guys back here in a half hour or so okay? I need to talk to your Mom again"

Zach and Grace exchanged glances but then Zach nodded his head and reached out to take the keys.

"Okay Dad" he agreed, taking the keys and shoving them into his jeans pocket.

"Grace," Peter began again, looking over to his daughter who looked as though she was only seconds away from tears again. "I don't want you thinking any of this is your fault okay? We weren't fighting because of you" he told her softly and she gently nodded.

"Okay" she replied, her voice nearly betraying her as she spoke.

"I mean it. You're okay right?" he asked and she let out a steadying breath.

"Yeah"

"I love you guys" he told them both sincerely. "I have to go talk to your Mom I'll see you back here soon"

"Kay Dad" Zach complied, stepping into the elevator with Grace following closely behind.

The moment the elevator doors closed effectively sealing them inside Peter quickly spun around back to the front door of the apartment and let himself inside only to see Alicia crouched down on the the floor in the same spot where she had been standing when he left her, head in her hands and sobbing almost uncontrollably.

"Oh God, Alicia" Peter breathed before quickly crossing the room and lowering himself down to his knees in front of her. He brought his arms around her so she fell against him, her quivering legs giving out from under her so she was seated on the floor with her head now buried in his shoulder.

"Baby I'm so sorry" Peter whispered against her hair as he gently rocked her against him and rubbed small circles on her back.

"I didn't mean that, any of that. Oh God sweetheart I'm so sorry" he told her sincerely; his own voice threatening to break. "Please forgive me" he gently pleaded. "Please, please forgive me"

They remained in each others arms for several minutes, neither saying anything but simply holding on closely to what they both had just nearly lost.

When Alicia's quiet sobbing seemed to have lessened Peter leaned back sitting on his heels and gently pushed Alicia back just far enough so he could see her face.

He couldn't bear the site of her this way; broken as she was with tear-stained cheeks and her once bright eyes now dulled with overwhelming sadness.

His heart sunk in his chest and he did the only thing he could think of to try and ease both their pain. Tilting her chin up with his right hand he brought his lips to hers, capturing them in a slow and tender kiss. She kissed him back, though neither of them made a move to deepen the kiss, just needing to feel the connection for as long as possible until the lack of oxygen forced them to part.

Peter rested his forehead against Alicia's and closed his eyes, allowing him a moment to collect himself and his thoughts before he spoke again.

"I don't want a divorce" he mentioned sincerely. "I'm sorry I said that, I shouldn't have, I just… I don't know what came over me" he admitted with a soft sigh.

"I don't want that either" she whispered sadly, shaking her forehead slightly against his. "But that doesn't mean… I mean, I don't know…"

"I know" he told her gently. "It was too much of me to ask, and unfair of me, even if I do truly believe it's what's best"

"I'm sorry" she sighed.

"I know" he repeated, letting out a deep breath. "Come on, let's get you up off the floor" he said before raising up onto his feet and holding out a hand to help her up as well. He led her over to the couch and she sat down next to him, both just taking a moment to embrace the comfortable silence.

"There's one more thing…" Peter mentioned after a few minutes had passed. "Something I've been thinking about since yesterday actually"

"What is it?" Alicia asked, furrowing her brow.

"I've decided…" he began, before taking a deep breath, "I'm going to drop out of the race for Governor"

"What? Peter…" Alicia gasped in shock, her hand coming up to cover over her mouth.

"I meant what I said earlier that I would do anything and everything to protect this family and I can't do that the way things are now. The limited time I have with the kids has practically been cut in half because of all the campaign stuff. I need to be more involved in our children's lives Alicia" he told her genuinely.

"Wow, I…" Alicia began, still slightly dazed from Peter's startling announcement but Peter was quick to interject.

"Please, Alicia, I don't want you feeling guilty over this or thinking I have any kind of hidden agenda here because-"

"I know Peter" Alicia interrupted softly. "I know you wouldn't misrepresent your intentions where Zach and Grace are concerned. But I still think… Peter, this is a huge sacrifice"

"I know" he let out quietly with a light nod of his head. "I'm going to call Eli on Monday and get him to schedule a press conference"

"Wow" Alicia breathed, easing herself back against the couch cushions, allowing everything a minute to just sink in.

"Are you all right?" Peter asked after a moment, bringing his hand over to cover hers which sat in her lap and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah I just…" Alicia paused for a moment and gave her head a gentle shake. "Do you ever feel like the world just keeps spinning out of control around you and all you can do is stand here and watch?" She asked, raising her head slightly to look up at him and he let out a soft chuckle.

"All the time" he confirmed with a heavy sigh. "Come here" he mentioned softly, lifting his arm up and gently pulling her towards him so she was snuggled into his side and he draped his arm across her shoulders and began mindlessly stroking up and down her arm as they both sat in contemplative silence.

After a few minutes of neither of them saying anything Peter glanced down to try and catch a glimpse of Alicia but her face was now buried in his chest and her arm wrapped around his waist in an effort to keep him close and embrace the warmth and comfort he offered her. He didn't want to disturb her in case she may have fallen asleep, he figured she could probably use the rest, but glancing at his watch he knew the kids would likely be coming in any moment so with a soft sigh he gently brushed her hair back away from her face and bent his head down slightly to look at her.

"Hey" he whispered softly

"Hmmm?" She replied lazily.

"The kids will probably be home any minute, I sent them off to get some lunch so I didn't know if we should… I mean, maybe we should get up"

"I don't want you to move" she mumbled, burying her face further into him and tightening her grip around him a little more.

"Okay" he sighed with defeat.

He couldn't say no to her in this moment if his life depended on it. Having her here like this, wrapped around him and not wanting to let go; it was like something out of dream. In fact he was half afraid it might be, so deciding to make the most of it while it lasted he bent his head down a little further and pushed her hair aside to plant a soft kiss on her temple.

It was in that moment that any brief musings of whether or not this may be a dream quickly disappeared as both Zach and Grace had re-entered the apartment, startling them both out of their reverie.

"Mom? Dad?" Grace questioned as she saw her parents cuddled up on the sofa together.

"Grace" Alicia shot her head up in surprise, pushing herself off of Peter and quickly running her hands through her hair to smooth it.

Relieved to see her parents no longer fighting Grace quickly ran towards her mother and threw her arms around her in a hug. Alicia held onto Grace tightly, bringing her down to sit on the sofa between her and Peter.

Peter, still feeling guilty about making his children have to see the fight to begin with made a move to stand up from the couch and give Grace and Alicia a moment alone together but he was surprised when he felt a warm hand clutch onto his and he looked down to see that it was Grace's. He smiled warmly at the two of them and then settled himself back into the cushions.

"So, everyone's okay?" Zach's voice began from behind them before he made his way around the living room to stand in front of the sofa.

"We're okay" Peter nodded, smiling up at Zach.

"Good" Zach offered a firm nod in return, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"What are you too old to give your old man a hug?" Peter teased, reaching up and grabbing Zach's arm. "Come here" he chuckled before pulling Zach down on the other side of him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders, giving him a squeeze.

Alicia brought her gaze up and looked across the sofa to see their whole family there together, the children laughing at their father's playfulness and her lips instantly curled up into a smile. Peter turned his head towards her and offered her a reassuring smile in return before reaching across the back of the couch and placing his hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Well, your Mom is really tired" Peter mentioned a moment later with a light sigh. "We should probably get going and let her rest okay?"

"Mom?" Grace asked, looking up to her mother to confirm and Alicia smiled and gently nodded her head.

"Yeah sweetie I'm just tired. You should go with your Dad and I'll see you on Monday okay?"

"Kay" Grace agreed, pushing herself off of the couch, followed by Zach and lastly Peter.

"Bye Mom" Zach smiled at his mother before bending down to offer her a quick hug. "Do you want me home tomorrow or should I just stay and come back on Monday with Grace?" he asked, knowing usually they would come home Sunday evening but since Grace had to stay an extra night, plans may have changed.

Alicia looked up to Peter who just gave her a shrug, indicating it was her call if she wanted to let him stay an extra night with him. She knew of course he wouldn't turn down the offer to have Zach stay a little longer than usual and it did make more sense, rather than him having to make an extra trip back into the city when he'd be doing so already on Monday.

"You can stay with your Dad" Alicia nodded after a moment.

"I can drop you at school on the way to the office Monday morning" Peter added.

"Okay, let me just get my school bag" Zach mentioned, hurrying off to his bedroom to gather the rest of his things.

"If you need anything," Peter began, looking over to Alicia once more but she quickly interrupted him.

"I'll call" she finished for him, offering a small but genuine smile.

"Okay" he nodded before wrapping his arm around Grace's shoulders and leading her towards the door.

* * *

It was late Sunday afternoon and Alicia found herself staring despondently at a blank television screen in front of her. She had spent most of the rest of her Saturday sleeping and had therefore gotten up very early Sunday morning and with the kids not being home and no work calls to keep her mind occupied she found herself bored and her mind unable to focus on anything other than thoughts of her family; how Grace would handle having to give an official statement the next day, Peter's shocking decision to leave the Governor race in order to spend time with their children. The latter still had yet to sink in for Alicia. Peter had always had political aspirations, never stopped striving for greater goals and she wasn't even sure what life would be like with him just standing still for once. She had always admired his determination and ambition, it was part of what had always attracted her to him and to think of him without that drive and ambition was… well, not the Peter she knew. He swore he wouldn't hold it against her in any way and she believed him but somehow she felt as if she was going to hold it against herself anyway, regardless if Peter did or not, he wouldn't have to.

It was then that a soft knock at her front door startled Alicia out of her reverie and she looked over from the couch where she was seated to the front door.

"Who could that be" she quietly mumbled to herself as she got up and made her way over to the door. She wasn't expecting anybody, it was a day early for the kids to be home and they and Peter all had a key so she had no idea who might be knocking at her door just now.

Swinging the front door open Alicia felt a little relieved to see Owen standing on the other side, leaning against the door frame with a mock pout adorning his face.

"You don't call, you don't write" he chastised teasingly, shaking his head before pushing past her and letting himself in.

_Crap. Owen._ She was supposed to call him and let him know what was going on after they saw each other in the parking garage the other night and she had completely forgotten.

"Oh, Owen I'm sorry" she sighed, placing her hand on her forehead and giving her head a quick shake. "I meant to I've just… Things have been… Well, you know" she finished with a small shrug, finally closing the door and following Owen inside as he wandered into the living room and plopped himself down on the sofa.

"No, actually I don't know. Since you, dear sister, have neglected to tell me anything" he playfully reminded her as she too took a seat next to him on the sofa.

"What's going on?" He asked, a little more serious this time. Or, at least as serious as anything that comes out of Owen's mouth could possibly be.

Alicia carefully began into the conversation of letting Owen know all that had happened with Grace that evening he had stayed with her. Owen had been just as stunned as the rest of them had been and for once she found him speechless; which only made it more unsettling to her all over again.

"Wow…" He finally breathed after a few moments of silence had passed. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, well, I mean she will be" Alicia shrugged. She was fairly certain that between her and Peter they would pull her through this and things would eventually go back to normal for her. It would certainly be an experience she would never be able to forget but the goal was not to make her forget it but to help her cope with it in the best way possible.

She went on to explain the next steps they would be taking and how Grace hopefully wouldn't have to see Connor again and Owen seemed content to just sit back and listen, quietly agreeing from time to time with just a small nod of his head as he took everything in.

"Where's Grace now?" Owen asked, slightly confused once Alicia had finished explaining everything to him.

"With Peter. They both are" she mentioned and he nodded.

"Right, it's Sunday"

"Yeah, he's actually going to keep them one more night so that Grace can go to the office with him tomorrow morning and get everything taken care of"

"Makes sense" Owen shrugged lightly. "Though I would've thought you would have wanted to keep Grace here with you" he mentioned with a quizzical glance in her direction.

"Oh please let's _not_ get started on that" Alicia sighed, shaking her head slightly as the memory of her and Peter's horrific fight began flooding back to her.

"What?" Owen asked; brow furrowed as he studied his sister.

"It's nothing" she told him with a wave of indifference.

"What did he do now?" Owen sighed; it was no mystery that he was far from chairman of the Peter Florrick Fan Club.

"Owen, don't" Alicia gently warned, not at all in the mood to start a fight with her brother. "He didn't… It wasn't his fault okay?"

"Please Alicia, when is it ever _not_ his fault?" Owen challenged with a roll of his eyes before re-positioning himself on the sofa by bringing his legs up and crossing them underneath him while he turned to face her better.

"You always do this to yourself, you sacrifice your own principles to justify someone else's, let _him_ walk all over you time and time again and make excuses for his behaviour" he continued a moment later and she felt herself rolling her eyes involuntarily.

"You know if I wanted a laundry list of all the things I'm doing wrong in my life I'd call Mom" she grumbled back and Owen frowned at her, seemingly un-amused.

"Besides, you have no idea what you're talking about. Peter has been great. Phenomenal, really. I don't even know what I would have done without him here this weekend" she continued to argue her case before him and it seemed to shut him up, at least for the moment.

"If anything I…" she began again but then stopped herself, shaking her head slightly.

"You what?" Owen prodded. "What were you going to say"

"I don't know" she sighed, putting a hand to her forehead. "It's complicated, okay?"

"Alright look" Owen began a moment later. "Peter might be able to play Super Dad for a weekend but that doesn't mean that he's not-"

"He's giving up the race" Alicia immediately interjected and the last words died on Owen's lips as he stared at her in mild shock.

"He… what?" He asked to clarify and Alicia simply nodded.

"Said he had to do something, he feels like he doesn't have enough time with the kids" she shrugged and Owen continued to look at her with disbelief etched across his features.

"I… He… Wow" was all Owen managed to come up with; seemingly baffled by the information Alicia gave him.

"That's what I said" Alicia added. "It's crazy, this is crazy right?" She asked, looking up at her brother for some validation but all he could offer her was a shrug of his shoulders; unsure of what to say.

"Oh my God, I have to go" Alicia said after a moment, giving her head a quick shake before swiftly standing up from the couch and heading out of the living room.

"What? Where are you going?" Owen asked, confused at her apparent sudden unspoken epiphany.

"You can stay. Or, go, you know whatever you want, just be sure to lock up when you leave" Alicia mentioned over her shoulder at him as she slid into her jacket and swung the front door open and closed it behind her; leaving a baffled Owen standing in her wake.

* * *

_A/N: Well I hope you don't hate me as much for this chapter as you did the last one ;) Probably just one more chapter after this and then this story will be finished, so please stay tuned. And if you have a moment, leave a review!_


	8. Chapter 8

**The Good Wife: Family Values**

**Chapter 8**

_A/N: Usually I write almost entirely from Alicia's POV but for this chapter I wanted to try writing some from Peter's as well so I'll let you guys be the judge of how that worked out, lol. There are some song lyrics in this chapter and I urge you to include them while you're reading and not skip over them, I found they fit perfectly with where their relationship is now, especially within this final chapter. The lyrics can be read at different POV's as well, the first one being Alicia's, and then they alternate back and forth after that. When reading them it should be fairly obvious to you whose POV they're in. Anyway, Enjoy!_

* * *

_All along it was a fever,  
a cold sweat, hot-headed believer.  
I threw my hands in the air,  
said show me something.  
He said if you dare,  
come a little closer._

Peter stood in the large kitchen of his home in front of the sink with a dish towel slung over his left shoulder and Zach standing next to him as they both worked on finishing up the last couple pots and pans left over from making dinner that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher. Casting a glance over his shoulder he watched Grace for a moment as she stood on her tip toes trying to grasp for a large bowl up on the top shelf of a cupboard, far out of her reach. He chuckled for a moment as he watched her determinedly stretch her small hand out further, wriggling her fingers in an attempt to reach the glass bowl and it made him smile; reminding him of how she was still, and would always be, his little girl.

Taking a few steps across the kitchen Peter came up behind Grace and secured one arm around her middle before lifting her up a few feet off the ground so she was at eye level with the top shelf and able to grab the bowl. Smiling, she turned her head slightly back to look at her father.

"Thanks Dad"

"You're welcome" he smirked at her, placing her back down on the ground and heading back over to the sink to finish helping Zach with the last couple dishes.

Grace carried the large bowl over to the table where a bag of freshly popped popcorn was waiting for her and promptly opened it, pouring its contents into the large bowl.

"Popcorn's ready!" Grace announced a moment later. "Dad, Zach, come on let's go watch the movie"

Zach placed the last dish he had been washing in the drying rack for Peter to finish with when the doorbell rang and he looked between his father and sister.

"Who's that?" Zach asked, looking back to Peter who merely shrugged.

"I'm not sure"

"I'll go check" Zach mentioned, leaving the kitchen and heading towards the door.

A smile spread across Zach's face as he swung open the front door, revealing his mother standing on the other side of it.

"Mom, hey, what are you doing here?" Zach asked, quickly stepping aside to let Alicia inside. "Dad, Mom's here!" He called out before even allowing his mother to answer.

Alicia craned her neck slightly to see into the kitchen to see Peter standing at the sink with a dish towel in hand, finishing up with some dishes and she offered him a small smile.

"Alicia, hi…" Peter said, slightly surprised as he placed the large pot in a cupboard and quickly wiped his hands off with the towel before walking out into the hallway to meet her.

"Hey Mom!" Grace too called out from the kitchen.

"Is something wrong?" Peter asked, brow furrowed slightly as he came to stand in front of her.

"No, I just…" she began then paused as she looked over to Zach, then to Grace who had gotten up from the table and was now standing only a few feet away at the threshold between kitchen and front hallway.

"Can we talk for a minute?" She asked, finally bringing her gaze back to look at Peter.

"Sure" he nodded. "Kids, why don't you go ahead and start the movie, I'll be in in a few minutes" he told them and they both quietly complied; Grace going back for the popcorn bowl before joining her brother to head off into the living room to get their movie started.

"Come on" Peter nodded his head towards his study just off the front hallway and Alicia followed after him.

Closing the door behind them Peter sat on the edge of his desk, one foot planted on the ground and the other hanging on the side of the desk and gestured for Alicia to have a seat at the large arm chair in the corner. Dropping herself into the leather chair Alicia took a breath and nervously ran her hands across her jean clad thighs.

"What's going on?" Peter asked, noting her tense posture.

"Well, I've had a lot of time to think about everything and… You can't drop out of the race Peter" she told him and he sighed, giving her a small frown.

"Alicia, I told you not to feel guilty about any of this. That wasn't my intention and I'm not going to let you-"

"No,_ I'm_ not going to let _you_" Alicia quickly interrupted, prompting Peter's eyes to widen slightly in shock.

"Don't drop out" she mentioned again, standing up from the chair and walking the few feet until she stood in front of him where he was still seated on the desk.

"I was thinking about it today and you're willing to give up everything and I wasn't even willing to have a conversation with you. I owe you at least that much" she told him sincerely.

"Alicia" Peter sighed, shaking his head slightly. "You've already sacrificed so much for this family. I want to do this for us now"

"But you _don't_ want to Peter" Alicia challenged softly. "And I don't want you to either"

"I guess that's why they call it a sacrifice" Peter shrugged.

"Have you told Eli yet?" She asked and he shook his head.

"No, I wanted to have a nice weekend with the kids, if I told Eli he'd be camped out on the front lawn until I let him in so he could try and talk me out of it" Peter joked and Alicia gave a small smirk.

"Don't tell him" She mentioned softly.

"Alicia…" Peter sighed, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck.

"No, Peter. You said you wanted us to talk, so we're talking" she told him, crossing her arms over her chest and taking another step closer to him so she was standing between his legs. Peter let his hands drop to his sides, gripping the edges of the desk on either side of him to resist the urge to reach out and touch her.

"Okay" he shrugged in defeat. "What are we talking about?"

Alicia stared at him for a moment, watching him looking up at her with saddened eyes; the same look he had given her the day before when she shot down his attempt to make them something more than they were. A look that held love and loss, remorse and sorrow. A look that caused her heart to sink in her chest at the sudden shift in emotion she finally allowed herself to feel.

Taking a step closer still so they were merely inches apart Alicia lifted her arms up and wrapped them around the back of his neck, playing with the short strands of hair there.

"Alicia, don't" Peter sighed sadly, looking aware from her. "Please" he begged, though it was barely a whisper.

"Look at me" she said softly and he lightly shook his head.

"I can't" he told her earnestly.

"Why?"

"Because I can't… stop" he admitted truthfully.

He knew he would never be able to stop looking at her; the mother of his children, his wife, the love of his life. He knew if he looked in her eyes at that moment that he would give in to absolutely anything she asked and he'd find himself back at square one tomorrow and be in the exact same pain he was feeling now, only he wasn't sure he could take it again. True he didn't want a divorce, but he didn't want to be stuck in this relationship limbo any longer either, it was getting to be too much for him; taking only part of her without wanting absolutely everything.

_Round and around and around  
and around we go.  
Oh now, tell me now, tell me now,  
tell me now you know._

"Maybe we just need to… take a breath, from each other" Peter mentioned softly, reaching up and taking her hands from the back of his neck and bringing them down so they hung between them, his hands holding onto her fingertips for a moment longer than necessary before letting them go so they fell to her sides.

"Is that what you want?" Alicia asked quietly.

"What I want, I can't have" Peter answered truthfully and Alicia frowned at the saddened resignation in his tone.

He was giving up.

Alicia studied his defeated posture for a moment. He still refused to look at her, his gaze fixed instead on a small chip on the edge of the old oak desk that he was currently picking at with his index finger. She knew he was hurting because she was hurting too. The last 48 hours spent with him although traumatic due to the whole Grace situation, actually made her feel almost normal again. To spend the night in her husband's arms; a luxury she hadn't afforded herself as she was afraid of what it would mean to both of them, to spend time with the children together as a family, to comfort each other in their time of need, it reminded of her of what it was like to be a family again and when he had walked out the door angrily the day before and she thought she'd lost the possibility of that forever; and it changed something in her.

"I don't want us to keep score here Peter" she began after a moment; taking a deep breath to settle her nerves before continuing. "We can agree that we've both made sacrifices for this family, and that's one thing that we'll always admire in each other and that will always hold us to each other"

"I know" he agreed with a small sigh.

"But, that's not _all_ that holds us to each other" she amended a moment later, bringing a hand up to run through his hair before sliding down the side of his face and resting on his cheek.

The contact startled him slightly and he finally brought his gaze up to look at her. Her eyes were warm and held a small uncertain smile in them.

Holding her gaze for a moment Peter brought his left hand up to cover over hers that rested on his face and she thought he was going to pull it away but instead he slid her hand down slightly further until he brought it over his warm lips and placed a gentle kiss on her fingertips before taking her hand off and holding it in his between them.

"Alicia I'm never going to let you go, so I'm asking you… No, I'm begging you, if you don't want us, you'll have to let _me_ go" Peter began, his gaze torn away from her once more and now fixed on their joined hands that hung between them; his thumb rubbing small circles on the back of her hand.

"I told you I can't do this half way anymore, so let go" he whispered, his fingers now barely hanging onto her hand and threatening to slip away.

Alicia gently began pulling her hand out from under his until they were just about separated before threading her fingers through his and squeezing his hand with hers; holding it tightly to ensure he couldn't slip away.

_Not really sure how to feel about it,  
Something in the way you move,  
Makes me feel like I can't live without you,  
It takes me all the way.  
I want you to stay._

"I can't let go either" she murmured, barely above a whisper and Peter wasn't sure he even heard her right. He looked up at her to see a sad smile in her eyes as she watched him expectantly, hoping he'd be the first to say something.

Holding her gaze Peter stood from the desk so there bodies were merely inches apart, their fingers still entwined between them and he took his free hand to tuck a few loose strands of hair behind her ear before running the back of his hand down her cheek in a gentle caress.

_The reason I hold on,  
Is cause I need this hole gone.  
Funny you're the broken one,  
But I'm the only one who needed saving.  
Cause when you never see the light,  
It's hard to see which one of us is caving._

_Not really sure how to feel about it,  
Something in the way you move,  
Makes me feel like I can't live without you,  
It takes me all the way.  
I want you to stay._

"Alicia, I need to know if-" Peter began but Alicia interrupted his thought as she brought her hand up to close over his that was still rested on her cheek.

"I love you, Peter" Alicia whispered gently and Peter's eyes lit up in surprise before her. "So I want us to try. Give it a _real_ try, like you said. We can work out the fine details later, all I know now is that I want our family again"

"I love you too" he smiled warmly at her before lowering his head slightly and gently capturing her lips with his, pulling her in to a long and tender kiss.

"Oh, and you're staying in the race for Governor" she demanded teasingly, poking him softly in the chest.

"Is that so?" he playfully challenged, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yes, it's so" she smirked at him. "Now, where were we, _Mr. Governor?_" her voice purred before pulling him back in for another searing kiss, this time less gentle and tender and more impatient and wanting as their need for each other grew stronger with every second that passed.

Before the two of them had a chance to get too carried away however they were startled apart when they heard Grace calling out from the living room;

"Dad! Are you coming? The movie's already started!"

"Ah yes, the children await" Peter smirked, leaning down to rest his forehead against Alicia's who let out a puff of laughter at her children's impeccable timing.

"What do you say?" Peter asked, bringing himself back slightly so he could look at her. "Can you stay tonight, watch a movie?"

"I'd like that" she told him with a genuine smile.

"Me too" he offered a warm smile of his own in return.

"Come on" Peter mentioned, leading her out of the study with their hands still entwined and heading them in the direction of the living room where Zach and Grace were already started into the movie.

Hearing footsteps both Zach and Grace turned their heads towards the hallway to see their parents entering the living room. Looking down at their joined hands a smile quickly spread across Grace's lips as she exchanged glances with Zach who was smirking at her as well.

"Everything okay?" Zach asked with a knowing smile and both Peter and Alicia nodded.

"Yeah, we're good" Peter mentioned, looking over at Alicia warmly. "If it's okay with you guys your Mom's going to stay and watch the movie"

"It's okay with us" Grace quickly answered for both her and her brother.

"And um… we have a few more things to talk to you guys about but it can wait till tomorrow" he told them before leading Alicia over to the smaller but unoccupied sofa where they both sat down; Peter wrapping an arm around the back of her shoulders and Alicia taking the opportunity to snuggle into his side as he placed a gentle kiss on her temple.

_Stay.  
I want you to stay._

* * *

**~END~**

_A/N: Well, there you have it folks. I hope you liked the final chapter and that it didn't disappoint. Thank you to all my wonderful readers and reviewers for sticking with me through this story! Your encouragement kept me going so for that I am grateful. _

_PS: Lyrics used throughout this chapter are from the song "Stay" by Rhianna ft. Mikky Ekko and belong to their respective owners, not me (*sigh*)._


End file.
